


Tickin' Like a Timebomb

by imagineyou (jokerindisguise), jokerindisguise



Series: More Than Just a Dream [2]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Apocalypse, Dave/Klaus still happens, F/M, Infidelity, Reader Insert, Reader is Number Eight, and Heartbreak, but a happy ending, don't hate me, just warning you now, there will be angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:41:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 68,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24012241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jokerindisguise/pseuds/imagineyou, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jokerindisguise/pseuds/jokerindisguise
Summary: Sequel toLife Could Be a Dream, Sweetheart. With Reginald Hargreeves dead and Five still stuck in time, it seems that the fate of the world is in your hands. You've come to terms with your past and you're ready to stop the impending apocalypse no matter what it takes. As events unfold, it turns out that you can be as prepared as you'd like to save the world, but you might not be able to save yourself.
Relationships: Klaus Hargreeves/Reader
Series: More Than Just a Dream [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1699261
Comments: 107
Kudos: 185





	1. Heads Up! Look Alive!

**Author's Note:**

> Title and chapter titles come from Timebomb by Walk the Moon.  
> Take note of the tags. There's angst ahead, folks.

You weren't sure how to feel about the passing of Reginald Hargreeves. You'd never felt like the man was truly your father. You were sure the man had never loved anyone in his life and as you grew older, you were sure he was not equipped to be a father. He only cared about putting you and the others through whatever training exercise he came up with or shooing you all out the door to save someone. You figured that he cared more about the prestige that came with being guardian to a bunch of superheroes than actually having to show any of you that you were worth more to him as anything other than an investment. 

One lasting impression from your childhood was his seemingly endless preaching about coming together as a team to save the world. As an adult, it was one of the only things you seemed to agree with him on, because if the world was truly going to avert the apocalypse, then the full force of the Umbrella Academy was needed. 

It didn't mean that you supported his methods when you were younger, though. In your eyes, he had done a lot wrong. He'd pushed Luther to be the best from a young age just because he was Number One. He'd always made Diego feel like he was less than because he wasn't the leader. He didn't try to lecture Allison on the dangers of getting everything she wanted, which you were sure affected her in her adult life. He basically tortured Klaus into using his power. He never took the time to listen to Five, which pushed Five to take matters into his own hands. He forced Ben to use his power over and over no matter how many times Ben tried to tell your father he hated his power. He never gave Vanya the recognition she deserved and always made her feel like she wasn't a part of the family. He never gave a damn about you or any of the others and it showed. 

So, while you didn’t really feel compelled to mourn the loss of your father, you were glad that it meant Luther and Allison were finally coming home. 

You were there when Luther arrived at the mansion. It took you a few moments to recognize him. It had been such a long time since the day you and Five buried your siblings and you were shocked to realize that you'd forgotten how big and imposing Luther had been. 

"Hey, Luther," you said, raising your hand in a wave from where you were leaning against the entryway to the living room. Your father had informed you that he’d sent word to Luther about your reappearance, but this was the first time you were getting to speak to Luther. 

Luther squinted at you before his eyes went wide in surprise. "Y/N?" 

You nodded your head. "It's me," you confirmed as you took a few steps closer to him. 

"Y/N, it's good to see you," Luther said, pulling you into a hug. 

"Hey, hey, hey," Klaus called from the entrance to the living room, tugging you away from Luther. "Hands off the merchandise." 

Luther raised an eyebrow at Klaus. "Uh, okay," he said with a furrowed brow. "Anyone else here?" 

You shook your head. "Just me and Klaus, but we live here." 

"Oh," Luther breathed with a frown. "Alright, then," he added before he brushed past you. 

You glanced to Klaus, surprised that Luther wasn't bothering with more of a reunion. You thought you warranted at least a few more moments of conversation since you'd miraculously returned and hadn't had a conversation with Luther since you were kids. 

"Right. Good to see you too," you grumbled. 

Klaus rolled his eyes and wrapped an arm around your waist. "You know Luther. He's not a man of many words. Or feelings." He pressed a kiss to your cheek before he pulled away from you. "I've got something I need to track down. I’ll be right back," he told you before he wandered off. 

You sighed and shook your head. You weren't sure why you expected Luther to be excited to see you. You supposed that after all this time, you wanted to think he would be glad you were back. But from the way he'd glanced around the foyer, distracted, you couldn't help but feel like he had other things on his mind. 

You retreated to the living room, curling up on the couch with your feet tucked under you. You felt restless at the idea of the others gathering at the mansion and finally being in the same room with each other for the first time in years. You knew it was bound to be chaotic, so you appreciated that you were getting a moment to yourself. So much had happened since finding out about the news of your father's death and you still weren't sure if you were ready to process Reginald Hargreeves' passing. 

You were torn out of your thoughts by someone calling your name from the entrance to the living room. You glanced over to see Allison standing there, a cautious smile on her face. 

"Allison, hey," you said, standing up from the couch. You walked over to pull her into a hug, taking a moment to enjoy being back in her presence. You'd been talking on the phone every week for months, but it was a whole different experience to finally seeing her right there in front of you. 

"Y/N," she breathed, not letting you go for a moment. "I can't believe you're really here." 

You pulled away from her after a few more moments, a smile on your face. "I can't believe it either some days. You look amazing," you offered, not knowing what else to really say. 

"Thanks," she told you with a small smile. She opened her mouth to say something else before the front door to the mansion opened and Vanya stepped inside. 

Vanya had her head down as she took her gloves off, not realizing that there were people in the foyer. 

"Vanya?" Allison called, a grin on her face at the sight of her sister. 

"Hey," Vanya said, finally glancing up to see you and Allison standing there. 

"How have you been?" Allison asked as she moved to pull Vanya into a hug. 

"I've been fine," Vanya answered, an unsure smile on her face. "Hey, Y/N," she said. 

You weren't sure why this all felt so awkward. Sure, the three of you hadn't been in the same room for a very long time, but you all had a bond with each other. You'd grown up together and you'd trained with Allison when you were younger. You had been training with Vanya for months. So why did you feel so uncomfortable now? 

"Oh, look," Diego said as he crossed the foyer towards the staircase, breaking you out of your thoughts. "The three sisters reunited. Going to start up a girl band?" He quipped, a smirk on his face. 

You rolled your eyes and pulled up a force field in front of him just before he reached the stairs. He smacked into it and stumbled back. 

"What the fuck, Y/N?" He groaned, reaching up to rub his forehead. 

"Don't be such a jackass," you commented, shooting him a smirk. 

You heard Allison let out a startled laugh. "You did that?" Allison asked, her eyes wide as she considered the force field. 

You dropped it and glanced back to see Vanya trying to tamp down on her quiet laughter. 

"It's a new skill," you offered. 

Allison shook her head. "Wow," she said, finally glancing to you. "That's amazing." 

"Thanks," you told her with a grin. 

After that, it felt like the tension was finally broken. After speaking for a few more minutes, Allison ended up leaving the foyer to explore the home she'd left behind. 

Vanya walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. You joined her, glad that you were being offered another moment of peace. 

"Do you think Five's ever going to make it back?" Vanya asked. 

When you looked at her, it was to find her watching Five's portrait above the fireplace. 

"I don't know," you answered honestly. "We're running out of time, though." 

You sat on the couch chatting with Vanya as the others slowly trickled into the living room. Luther was the first to walk in and he seemed surprised to see you and Vanya sitting there on the couch, as if you weren't somehow welcome in your own childhood home. 

"Vanya. Y/N," he said, nodding at each of you in acknowledgement. 

There was one thing you didn't miss about Luther. He always acted like he was above you all. You knew he was the unofficial leader, but you couldn't help but think that didn't give him license to be a jerk. 

Allison was next to join you and you noticed the way Luther was trying to subtlety watch her as she crossed the room. You raised an eyebrow at him when he glanced at you and felt yourself smirk when a blush started to form on his cheeks. 

Diego drifted in just before Klaus. Klaus went straight to the bar and you couldn't help but laugh as he muttered to himself as he perused the contents of the liquor cabinet. 

Once he had his drink in hand, Klaus moved to sit down on the couch beside you. You noticed that he was wearing Allison's skirt again and you reached out to mess with the frills attached to the bottom of it. Klaus tugged on the sleeve of your shirt until you were pressed against his side. He threw an arm around your shoulders before he leaned towards you. "Think we can get away with having any alone time today?" He asked, his voice low in your ear. 

You turned to smirk at him. "Not likely." 

Klaus pouted before he took a sip of his drink. "Dad dies and suddenly I have no sex life. Who knew the two would be related?" 

You shook your head, pressing yourself closer into his side. You were aware that the others had been talking, but when you leaned forward and kissed Klaus, you noticed the room go silent. You pulled back to see Luther and Allison staring at you and Klaus in stunned silence. Diego was rolling his eyes as he leaned back in his chair and Vanya was trying her best to hide a smile. 

"Uh, what's that about?" Luther asked, gesturing at you and Klaus. 

"Oh, yeah," Diego said, sitting forward in his chair. "They're a thing now." 

"What?" You heard Allison ask, surprise evident in her tone. 

"But what? I mean, why? How?" Luther questioned. He kept shooting small glances over at Allison. 

Klaus pulled away from you to look at the others. "You see, Luther, when two people like each other very much--" 

"Let's not go down that road," Diego interrupted. "Just get over it, big guy," Diego said as he looked at Luther. "It's not a big deal," he continued, sharing a look with Luther as if daring him to argue. 

Luther considered you and Klaus where you were practically cuddling on the couch. "I guess it's not the most important thing we need to discuss now." 

"Oh, yeah? What do we need to talk about?" You couldn't help but ask, curious to know why Luther looked like he was steeling himself for whatever he was about to say next. Luther didn't know about the impending apocalypse and until you were sure he could be trusted with the information, you weren't willing to share. 

"I think someone killed dad," Luther started. 

"What?" You heard Diego scoff. "The coroner said it was a heart attack." 

"His monocle was missing," Luther added. 

"So?" Klaus cut in, taking another sip of his drink before he pulled a cigarette from behind his ear and put it between his lips. You reached out to take it away, ignoring Klaus' pout when you threw it over your shoulder. 

"So, did you ever see dad without it?" Luther glanced to each of you, waiting for one of you to say something. 

"Luther, dad was old. It's completely possible that he just died," you tried to explain. 

"Can you talk to him?" Luther asked, ignoring you as he glanced at Klaus. 

Klaus snorted into his drink. "Yeah, sure," Klaus said, rolling his eyes. “I’ve got a direct line to Hell.” 

You tuned out part of the conversation, noticing the way Luther kept shooting you unsure looks. He looked like he wasn't sure if he should keep talking as long as you were in the same room. It didn't take you long to understand what Luther was thinking. 

"Do you think I did it?" You asked, cutting off whatever Diego had been saying. 

Luther glanced at you, his expression smoothing out into something you couldn't recognize. "I think events don't add up," Luther said. "You were gone for how long? What were you doing during all that time? Why didn't you come back sooner? And not to mention, when you did finally show up, dad ends up dead." 

"Now hold on," Diego started. 

You let out a chuckle in disbelief. "You know what, Luther? As usual, you’re clueless." You said as you pushed yourself to your feet, ignoring Klaus' fingers trailing along your back and tugging on the hem of your shirt. "You can go fuck yourself," you told Luther as you brushed past him. 

"Way to lead, big guy," Diego dryly responded. 

"There's no way I'm going to try to contact dad now," you heard Klaus mutter as you left the room. 

You weren't sure what you had in mind when you left the living room, but standing just inside your dad's office was not it. You stared around the space, remembering the last time you were there. You'd been forced to show your dad your power. You wondered why he had been so invested in learning more about your power and why he was pleased with your training in the months leading up to his death. You thought of Pogo's odd behavior and Grace's flakiness as you moved to sit in your dad's chair. You swiveled around in a circle as you considered the contents of his office. 

"What did you know, old man?" You were certain that your dad had known more than he let on. Did he know about the apocalypse? Did he know he was going to die? Did he know how the apocalypse happened or why? You weren't sure, but you figured you were in the best place to find answers to your questions. 

You went through the papers you found tucked away in your dad's desk drawers, but you didn't find anything incriminating. You were starting to wonder if you should venture out and try to visit with the others again when you heard the music start up in Luther's room. 

You felt a reluctant smile stretch across your face as you began tapping your foot to the beat of the song. It wasn't long before you started to sway, getting lost in the music as you began to twirl around the room. You felt like you had fought for so long that to finally take a moment to do something as simple as dance along to a song from your childhood felt really fucking good. 

Your dancing was disrupted by what you at first thought was a loud crack of thunder. You cautiously ventured out of your father's office, wondering if a storm had swept in, before you passed a window that looked out into the courtyard. You saw the blue flashes of light and instinctively knew that it wasn't anything as plain as lightning. 

You rushed towards the door to the courtyard, hope filling you with every step. You noticed the others crowded near the door and moved to push past them just in time to watch Five fall from the sky. 

You felt dizzy with relief as you watched Five slowly push himself to his feet and dust off his knees. The others brushed past you, all of them wearing expressions varying from awe to astonishment. 

"Am I still high or is that little Number Five?" You heard Klaus ask. 

Diego glanced to you and then nodded over towards Five. He raised an eyebrow at you, as if asking why you were still just standing there. 

As you walked closer to Five, you noticed him glance down at himself, noticing for the first time that he was no longer occupying the body he left Dallas in, but a much younger version of himself. He looked as if he hadn’t aged a day since he left the Academy. 

"It's about time you showed up," you told him as you finally stopped in front of him. 

He glanced up at you, his eyes wide. "It worked," he breathed. "We're here." He glanced around the courtyard before taking note of the others. 

You couldn't help but laugh in delight as you pulled him in for a hug. "I'm taller than you now," you remarked, ruffling his hair. 

"Shut up," he grumbled as he pulled away from you. "At least you look like the others," he observed as he nodded towards the other members of the Umbrella Academy. 

You glanced back to see the others grouped behind you. You could tell that everyone seemed to have questions they weren't asking, so you gestured over towards the door. "Why don't we do this inside?" 

Five nodded his head. "Sounds ideal," he said before he walked off, leaving you to follow after him. 

You waited near the head of the kitchen table while Five made a sandwich. You raised an eyebrow at him in amusement when you saw grab the peanut butter from the cabinet as he continued ignoring Luther's questions. 

Klaus was sitting on the table and when you shot a glance at him, he winked at you. Allison and Luther looked confused as they considered Five, but Vanya and Diego seemed as if they were expecting all of the answers you'd been searching for over the past few months. 

"So, I'm in my thirteen-year-old body and you look age appropriate," Five remarked once he finished making his sandwich. He looked you up and down before he shook his head, a rueful smile on his face. "Well, the equations must have been off." 

"Delores did say that," you reminded him. 

A wistful look crossed his face at the mention of Delores, before he shook it off. "So, tell me where you're at. What have you figured out?” 

"I looked into our only real clue," you told him, knowing he would know what you were talking about. 

"So you already--" Five started, gesturing towards his eye. 

"Yeah, but--" you said, shrugging your shoulders to finish your thought. 

"Dead end?" 

"Not exactly," you admitted with a wince. 

"Then?" 

"It was a while ago." 

Five met your eyes and neither one of you had to say anything anymore for the conversation to continue. 

"Ah," Five said after a few moments. "Then..." he trailed off, frowning down at his sandwich. 

"Exactly," you answered, knowing that you had been remiss to not keep up with the information you needed. You knew that both of you would likely need to visit Meritech again to check up on the eye Five had discovered during the apocalypse. The eye was your best shot at figuring out who caused the apocalypse. If anything, it would at least tell you who Luther had been fighting on the day the world went to shit. 

"Uh, I hate to break up this touching reunion," Luther cut in. "But what the hell are you two talking about?" 

"It's like you two share a brain," Klaus commented, his eyes wide in fascination as he watched you and Five. 

"Yeah. It's scary," Diego agreed, nodding his head. 

"Shut up," you and Five snapped at the same time, not even bothering to turn away from each other. 

"Brought you a present," Five said, reaching behind him. You watched as he pulled a gun from the waistband of his shorts and held it out to you. 

"I thought I'd lost it," you breathed, reaching out to take the gun Arthur had gifted to you. 

"I managed to grab it," Five told you before he took a bite of his sandwich. 

"Thank you," you said, still turning the gun over in your hands, glad to have it back with you. It was rare that you had been gifted anything in your life and this one meant a lot to you. 

“Why the hell is Five giving you a gun?” You heard Luther ask. 

Five glanced at you before he held his hand out, ignoring Luther’s question. "So, partners?" 

"Partners," you agreed, shaking his hand. 

He flashed you a brief, wide grin before he turned away from you. "Then let's get to work." 

"Now, hold on a minute," Luther said as you and Five moved to leave the kitchen. 

"Sorry, Luther," you called, still bitter about the fact that he had brushed you off so easily earlier and then had the gall to accuse you of killing your dad. "This doesn't concern you." 

You heard Klaus laugh in delight, knowing that Luther had probably made an indignant face at the words. 

You didn't even care, though. You felt like things had finally clicked back into place. You had Klaus. You had your family. And now, you had Five. You were confident for the first time that the apocalypse could be averted. 

"I've got someone waiting for you in your room," you told Five as you stopped just outside the kitchen. 

You saw him perk up at that. "Delores?" 

You nodded your head. "I went to get her as soon as I could." 

Five reached out to place a hand on your arm. "Then let's go talk about this with her. She always had the best ideas." 

"Uh, who the hell is Delores? Why is she here? What's going on?" You heard Luther ask as you and Five moved further away from the kitchen. 

You heard Diego sigh, but it was Vanya who answered. 

"It's a really long story, Luther." 

You stayed with Five and Delores for a few moments, but you wanted to give them a couple of minutes to themselves to reunite. 

You waited at the bottom of the stairs in the foyer. Everyone was supposed to gather in the courtyard to have some kind of farewell to your father, but you weren't really looking forward to it. Despite everything the man had done to you, Reginald Hargreeves had always been a presence in your life. Even when you were away from home for most of your life, the man had seemed to influence you whether you wanted him to or not. You wouldn’t miss him, but you couldn’t help but wonder what your life would be like now. 

"Well, there you are," Klaus said as he sat down beside you. "Is Five up there making out with his girlfriend?" 

You snorted and shook your head. "That's an image I didn't need planted in my brain." 

"I could always find something else to put up there," he told you, tapping you on the forehead. 

You swatted his hand away before grabbing it and lacing your fingers together. You leaned forward to kiss him, forgetting for a moment that there were other things going on. 

"Huh," you heard Five say behind you. "I guess I missed a few things. How long have you been back?" He asked when you finally glanced up at him. 

"Almost six months," you answered, feeling yourself blush under Five's scrutiny. 

Klaus clapped his hands together. "Well, if Five's done with his little girlfriend, then it must be time to finally say goodbye to dad. See you out there," Klaus said before he stood, leaning over to kiss you briefly before he walked away calling Diego’s name. 

"So," Five started, considering you. "You and Klaus?" 

You knew you were still blushing as you nodded your head. You didn’t really care what anyone thought about your relationship with Klaus, but Five was different. You shared a bond with Five that you would never have with the others. Five was your partner. You’d spent nearly every day together for over forty years. You’d both witnessed horrors and done despicable things all in the name of saving your family. If anyone was going to make you think twice about your relationship with Klaus, it would be Five. 

Five snorted and shook his head. "You sure that's a good idea?" 

You squinted up at Five, trying to figure out what he meant by that. "Why?" 

"It's Klaus, Y/N. He doesn't seem the type to do commitment. _You_ are." 

"He does," you argued. "Well, with me," you added. 

Five sighed and walked the rest of the way down the stairs, brushing past you. "I hope you're right," he said. "Now, tell me what you've got on Meritech." 

You briefed him on what you'd found out about the prosthetics company as you ventured out to the courtyard. It was overcast and raining when you made it outside, which you figured was fitting for occasion. 

You stood next to Klaus and Five as you watched Luther pour out your father's ashes. You stared down at the remains of your father on the ground and wondered what he would have thought of the pathetic display. His children had finally gathered together to put him to rest, but it likely wasn’t the family reunion he always had in mind. Reginald Hargreeves always thought the Umbrella Academy was a potentially formidable team, but in a lot of ways, you were all broken. It would take a lot more than your father’s death to suddenly mend bridges. You just hoped you had the time to pull everyone back together before the world burned. 

You weren't really paying attention to what was going on around you, but you were forced to focus when Luther and Diego started fighting. 

You felt yourself roll your eyes, watching as Klaus moved to push Five back as if to protect him. You wondered if Klaus momentarily forgot that Five was an ex-assassin, but that wasn't your concern at the moment. You knew that fighting was the last thing you all needed on such a gloomy and depressing day, so before Diego and Luther could rush at each other again, you pulled up a force field to separate them. 

Diego bounced off the force field while Luther pulled up short just in time. He stared at in wonder, glancing around the group as if trying to figure out who produced it. 

"That's not fair, Y/N," Diego called, turning to look at you. You noticed Luther glancing to you in surprise. 

"You're ruining the fun," Klaus said, nudging you with his elbow. 

You shook your head. "Dad's dead and you two are fighting like children," you admonished Luther and Diego. “We’ve got bigger shit to worry about,” you added, meeting Diego’s eyes. 

"Your control is better," Five noted. "Have you been training?" 

You nodded your head as you turned away from the others. "I figured it was better to be prepared," you mentioned to him before you made your way towards the door. You didn't want to stand in the courtyard any longer where it was wet and freezing. You didn't want to pay tribute to a man who had fucked up everyone he came into contact with. You just wanted to go inside where it was warm and take a moment to breathe. 

An hour later, you were sitting at the kitchen table with Klaus and Allison. Vanya had already left and you were sure Diego and Luther were deliberately avoiding each other. Five was searching through the kitchen cabinets for coffee, but you knew he wouldn't find anything. 

You heard Five groan in frustration. "I'm leaving to get a decent cup of coffee," he said. He turned to glance at you, raising an eyebrow in question. 

You nodded your head and stood from the table. 

Klaus frowned and reached out to grab your wrist as you passed him. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he told you. 

You smirked down at him. "That's not a very long list." 

Klaus grinned before he tugged on your wrist and pulled you down into a kiss. 

Later, as you sat down at the counter of Griddy's, you wondered if Diego and Luther would survive being on the same planet without one of them killing the other. Luther had a really bad habit of unknowingly pushing Diego’s buttons and Diego liked to cut people down to pieces when he felt defensive. He knew where to hit where it would hurt and while you knew having Luther back was bringing up a lot of insecurity for Diego, you hoped he wouldn’t let it get in the way of doing what needed to be done to avoid the apocalypse. 

Five glanced over at you. "What are you thinking about?" 

"The family," you answered. "They're going to have to put everything aside if we're going to work together." You glanced over at the man sitting at the counter with you and Five, knowing that you couldn't go into detail about the end of the world around strangers. 

"How much do they know?" Five asked, leaning forward on the counter and considering you. 

"Allison and Luther? Nothing. Klaus, Vanya, and Diego? Enough," you answered. You didn’t divulge everything about the end of the world, but they knew what was relevant. 

"It should just be me and you," Five tried to argue. "They're all basically useless," he commented with a roll of his eyes. 

"You don't really think that," you told him. "Otherwise, what was the point of this?" 

"Just because they're my family doesn't mean I can't think they're all idiots." 

You heard the man at the counter snort in amusement. 

Five shot the man a wide grin. It was one he used when he was trying to be charming and disarming while still coming across as a bit of a threat. As a 58-year-old assassin, it probably would have shut the man up. As a 13-year-old kid, it just made Five look kind of cute and manic. 

You watched a woman finally venture out from the back office and walk over to you. 

"Hey, Agnes," you said, raising your hand in wave. You'd been to Griddy's at least once a week since getting back, so while you didn't know her very well, you were at least on a first name basis with the waitress. Plus, you were sure she made some of the best doughnuts in the world, which was something you’d often let her know. 

"Y/N," she said with a nod in your direction. "What'll it be?" 

"Coffee," Five answered. "Black." 

The woman regarded Five in surprise. She glanced to you, her eyebrow raising in question. You nodded your head, letting her know he was serious. She shrugged her shoulders and turned to get Five his order. 

"Geez kid, is that a tattoo?" The man beside Five asked, staring down at Five's wrist. "Your mom let you get one?" He asked, glancing up at you. 

You felt your own version of a disarming grin tug at the corners of your lips. "Well, we're a very progressive family." 

The man shook his head, but didn't comment any further. When Agnes set down Five's coffee in front of him, you reached into your pocket to grab enough cash to pay for it. The man shook his head, holding a hand out to stall you as he stood from his seat. "I've got it," he said. "You two take care of yourselves," he added as he set down enough bills on the counter to cover his order and Five's coffee. 

"Thank you," Five told him before he took a sip of his coffee. 

"Let me know if you two need anything else," Agnes said before she left to go back into the office. You watched the man turn and leave before you looked to Five. You waited until the man got into his truck and drove away before you spoke. 

"So, was Delores glad to have you back?" 

Five opened his mouth to answer when you heard the bell over the door ring. You glanced over your shoulder and froze, seeing the group of men that entered Griddy's. They were all bulky and imposing. All of them had a gun and most of them were already pointed at the two of you. You knew instinctively who sent them and why they were there. 

"Your fucking tracker," you hissed at Five. 

"Should have known it wouldn't be that easy," Five sighed. He turned on his seat, regarding the goons the Temps Commission must have sent after Five. You kept a watch on their guns and started to slowly maneuver yourself off your chair. 

"Any chance you gentlemen are lost?" You asked, glancing quickly to each of them and taking note of their position. 

"We're not here for you, lady," the one in front said. “Just get out of here before you get killed.” 

Five grimaced as he finished off the rest of his coffee. "The company really should invest in smarter henchmen," Five commented before he threw the coffee cup at the closest man. You watched it shatter once it smashed into the man’s forehead before all hell broke loose. 

You threw up a force field to protect yourself and Five when the others started shooting. You didn't bother pulling out the gun Arthur had given to you, knowing that you and Five wouldn't even need it to take care of the Temps Commission's foot soldiers. 

All of your training with Diego had paid off, since you knew just when to duck and dodge. You threw punches and grabbed the plate the man had left behind on the counter to bring it down on the one of the goon’s heads. You put up a force field just as one of the men went to shoot you and saw the bullets ricochet off the field. The man fell to the floor, downed by his own weapon. 

It felt like it only took a couple of minutes for you and Five to take care of the invaders. Five didn't look like he'd been hit, but you were sluggishly bleeding from a cut to your temple where one of the henchmen had gotten a lucky hit in. 

You glanced around at Griddy’s, feeling a bit guilty that you’d managed to make a mess of the building in just a matter of minutes. Lights were flickering and half the glass in the front windows had been shattered by stray bullets. Some of the tables were overturned and a few of the chairs were broken. There was blood spattered on the floor and walls. You grimaced at the dead bodies littered around the dining area. You were thankful for a moment that Agnes was likely locked in the back office, since she definitely would not have survived the shootout. 

You noticed Five go to the counter and swing himself over it to drop down on the other side. He found a knife and braced his arm on the counter. 

You shook your head as you walked closer. "Let me," you told him as you held your hand out for the knife. 

You tried not to think about what you were doing as you sliced into Five's arm. 

"They weren't here for you," Five remarked with a hiss of pain. 

"Arthur got me off the hook," you told him with a grimace as you pulled the tracker from Five's arm. You handed it over to him, wiping Five's blood off on your jeans. "They thought I was dead." 

Five sighed as he glanced down at the tracker in his hand. "It won't be long until they figure out you're alive. They’ll come for you too." 

"Yeah," you agreed, frowning down at the cut on Five's arm. "We should get out of here before the police arrive." You wiped off the handle of the knife, hoping that you and Five weren’t about to leave behind anything incriminating. 

"Let's go," Five agreed. 

Once outside, you glanced up and down the street. You half-expected there to be more Temps Commissions agents, but the street was deserted. You watched Five drop the tracker in a puddle of water before he glanced up at you. 

"I've got something I have to do. You can take the car with you," he offered as he nodded towards the family car parked just across the street. Five had insisted on driving you to Griddy’s, but you wondered where he planned on going now without the car. 

"I'm going back to the Academy," you informed him. "Watch your back," you added as you backed away from him. You thought about asking him if he wanted a ride to wherever he was going, but you figured he would have asked or even invited you if he planned on it. 

"The apocalypse is in eight days," Five reminded you. 

You shot him a sad smile. "How can I forget?" You asked before you turned and left Five standing outside of Griddy's. If you only had eight more days to save the world, then you were going to have to figure out how to stop the Temps Commission from fucking up your mission to avert the apocalypse. 

There was a little voice in the back of your head that told you that six months hadn’t been long enough to figure out how the world ended, so what the fuck would you accomplish with only eight more days?


	2. This Ain't a Green Light

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking to myself it's awfully soon to post another chapter. But it was done, so I thought 'fuck it.' Here you go. 😉

You couldn't help but think about the Temps Commission on the way back home. If they were already sending people after Five when he had been there for less than a day, then they were likely desperate to get him back or kill him. The henchmen that had stormed Griddy's were just phase one. 

You thought of Arthur's warning months before. If the goons failed, then the company was likely to send in Hazel and Cha-Cha. You grinned to yourself at the thought of facing them again. You'd had months to train and get ready for them. This time, you resolved to show Cha-Cha that you were much more than Five's sidekick. You had gotten sick of everyone underestimating you and while it worked in your favor most times, you weren't going to let Hazel or Cha-Cha get anywhere near your family if you could help it. Besides, you knew they didn't stand a chance against you and Five together. 

You left the car in the alley behind the mansion and made your way inside the Academy. It was quiet inside and you figured everyone must have already gone to bed. 

As you made your way back to the bedrooms, you thought of the henchmen disregarding you. They weren't ready for you. The Temps Commission had really thought you were dead. You wondered how long you had before they found out you were very much alive and stronger than the last time they'd gone after you. You knew you stood a much better chance now against any attack made by the Temps Commission, but did the others? Luther was strong, but strength would only get him so far. Allison could rumor someone, but even that had its limits. Diego was a great fighter, but he sometimes lacked the patience needed to formulate the best plan of attack. Klaus liked to tell you he was very much a lover and not a fighter, even though you knew he just didn’t want to spar. Vanya was coming along in her training, but she was nowhere near ready to go up against a Temps Commission agent. It seemed that the only members of the Umbrella Academy ready to face that threat were you and Five and that was only because you knew exactly what you were up against. 

You wondered if you had enough time to brief the others as you passed your room and went right to Klaus'. You noticed his door was cracked open, so you knocked on the doorframe. You waited for Klaus to call out before you opened the door. You found Klaus lying on his floor with his feet propped up on his bed. He twisted until he was looking at you. He raised an eyebrow at you in surprise. "What did you and Five do? Get into a bar brawl?" 

You frowned down at Klaus in question. 

Klaus gestured at his temple before he rolled over and pushed himself to his feet. He reached out to brush his fingers over the cut you'd forgotten about. 

You flinched at the touch, ducking away when he kept trying to poke at the cut. "It was our old company," you admitted. "They were looking for Five." 

"Already?" Klaus asked before he tugged you over towards his bed. "It took them a couple of days to track you down when you first showed up. Why are they in such a rush to bag Five?" 

"He had a tracker in his arm. We cut it out, though." 

Klaus sighed before settling down on his bed. He pulled on the back of your shirt until you joined him, kicking off your shoes before you pressed yourself against him. He kissed the crown of your head. "Little shit gets back for half a day and he's already pulling you into his shit." 

"It's my shit too," you reminded Klaus. "We both worked for the Temps Commission." 

"You wouldn't have if it wasn't for Five," Klaus pointed out. 

"It wasn't Five's fault," you tried to argue. You knew there was no real way to make Klaus understand, though. You couldn't really explain your bond with Five. You'd survived together and fought together. You'd killed for each other and you'd have to keep killing for each other. For most of your life, Five was the one you had to lean on to get through the day. Now that you were back, things were different. You had Klaus and Vanya and Diego. You no longer felt like you couldn't breathe without Five in the same room as you. But knowing that he was back was a huge relief to you. Five was the only other one who could really understand what you’d been through while you were away, because he had been through most of it right there with you. 

"I think it was," he grumbled, his hand coming up to tug at a strand of your hair. "Are we going to talk about Five all night or are we going to make out?" 

You couldn't help but laugh, glancing up at Klaus' face to see him smiling back at you. "Well, if you insist," you told him before you leaned forward to kiss him. 

In the morning, you woke to find that Klaus had already left. You frowned at the empty spot beside you before you slowly sat up. It took you a few moments to finally pull yourself together enough to get out of Klaus’ bed. 

You wondered where Klaus had gone and if Five was back yet. There weren’t many places Five could have stayed besides the Academy, so you figured he had to come back at some point during the night. 

You glanced to the empty bed again and thought about Klaus and what he could be doing that morning. It wasn’t often that you woke up without Klaus there. He always told you mornings were either for sleeping or sex, so knowing that he had woken up without waking you up meant that he was likely up to something. 

You ventured out of Klaus' room and into the kitchen. You noticed Grace humming to herself as she washed dishes. You were startled by the sound of the phone ringing and held up a hand when Grace immediately turned to answer it. 

"I've got it, Mom," you assured her, already reaching out to grab the receiver. "Umbrella Academy," you said into the phone. "Home for the disgraced superhero." 

"Funny," you heard Diego drawl on the other end. 

You grinned at the sound of Diego's sarcasm. "I thought it was," you told him. "What's going on?" 

"I was arrested last night. I got caught investigating a shootout at Griddy's." 

You felt guilty for a moment, knowing that you and Five had inadvertently gotten Diego arrested the night before. "Do you need me to get you out?" 

You weren't sure why Diego would call the Academy if he only had one call, but then you realized he didn't have many other places to turn to if he did get in trouble. It wasn't like he would call Vanya and most of his siblings were currently staying at the house. 

"I've still got some friends on the force. I just wanted to check in and see if everything was quiet over there. They couldn't figure out why hired killers would want to have a firefight at Griddy's. It doesn't make sense to me either." 

You bit your lip, turning until you were facing the wall. "I might have a clue about what happened," you admitted with a grimace. 

"For fuck's sake, Y/N," Diego groaned. "Please tell me it wasn't your doing." 

"My old company came looking for Five," you told him, not wanting to go into detail. You weren't sure if the call was being monitored, but you hoped Diego would be smart enough to call you on a secure line. 

"They moved fast," Diego pointed out. "Are you okay? It was a bloodbath in there." 

"Five walked away without a scratch," you said, wincing at Diego's sigh. 

"And you?" 

"Barely anything," you told him, carefully brushing your fingers over the cut you'd gotten the night before. It was scabbed over and well on its way to healing. It was the least of your problems now. 

"I have a few things going on over here, but I'll drop by tomorrow. Can you and Five stay out of trouble until then?" 

You rolled your eyes. Diego was being overprotective and while you appreciated that he cared, he seemed to forget that you and Five had already been through hell and back. A few mindless goons were not going to break you. 

"We'll be fine. I'm more worried about the rest of you. You have no idea what's heading our way." You wondered if it was possible to get to Hazel and Cha-Cha before they got settled in town. You knew there were dozens of seedy motels that the company could send them to and figuring out which one and which room belonged to the pair would be near impossible if you wanted to be the first to strike. Still, it was a tempting thought. You didn’t want to get distracted from averting the apocalypse, though. You felt like there were too many problems and not enough time to solve them all. 

"You know I'd have your back if you let me," Diego said, breaking you out of your thoughts. "You and Five aren't alone anymore." 

You sighed, knowing he was right. You knew Diego was more than capable of defending himself. You just didn't want to put him in the line of fire. You thought briefly of finding Diego's body in the future. If you and Five didn't stop the apocalypse, then it would happen all over again in just a week. 

"I know," you told him. "Come by tomorrow. I'll update you if I have anything." 

"Bye, Y/N. Don't get in any more trouble until I see you." 

You couldn't help but laugh, knowing that there was no way to truly promise that. "I'll do my best. Bye, Diego," you said before you hung up the receiver. 

You turned to see Grace putting a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon on the table. "I made you breakfast, Y/N," she said, grinning at you. 

"Thanks, Mom," you told her, smiling cautiously at her. She was acting as if your dad had never died. You wondered if there was something off with her programming as you sat down at the table. "It looks great," you said before you picked up the fork she'd set beside the plate and began to eat. 

You watched Grace hum to herself as she finished washing the dishes. You thought about her weird behavior and the secret meetings between your dad, Grace, and Pogo in the days leading up to your dad’s death. You wanted answers, but you knew Grace wouldn't have them. She didn't seem like she was fully there and you knew that with every question asked, there would only be a pleasant smile and offer to get you food or something else she deemed necessary. Asking Pogo anything was out of the question, because Pogo would go to his grave keeping your dad's secrets if he had to. 

You frowned down at the kitchen table and tried to figure out the best way to get the information you wanted. You'd searched your dad's office the day before, but found nothing worth a second look. You knew there had to be something else, though. 

It took you a few moments to remember your father's journal. He seemed to be taking note of something in that journal at least once a day when he was alive. You never knew what he was writing down on the pages, but it must have been important to him. You resolved to look for the journal the first chance you were afforded. At the rate you were going, you really hoped you got around to it within the next week. It might not have been top priority, but there was every chance you were going to die a horrible death along with your loved ones. You at least wanted to unlock some of the mystery behind Reginald Hargreeves before you went. 

After you finished your breakfast, you went in search of Klaus or Five. To your surprise, you found both of them in Five's room. Five was fussing over Klaus' shirt and Klaus looked like he was only a few seconds away from snapping at Five. 

"What the hell are you two doing up here?" You asked, leaning against the doorway as you watched them. 

Klaus' eyes lit up when he turned to see you standing there. "Five's going to pay me to pretend to be his dad. Want to be his mom?" 

You glanced at Five, raising an eyebrow in question. "What are you up to?" 

"I want to go back into Meritech. They wouldn't tell me anything because I look like I'm barely going through puberty," he confessed with a scowl. 

"So, having us act like your parents is going to get them to suddenly fess up?" 

"No," Five told you, shaking his head. "But it's going to get us a foot in the door. I just want a chat," he offered with a shrug of his shoulders. 

You narrowed your eyes at Five, knowing this wasn't going to be anything as simple as a 'chat.' Five was going to threaten them somehow and he was going to coerce some kind of answer out of them. You really wanted to be there when it happened. 

"When are we leaving?" 

"As soon as Klaus changes into something else," Five answered. 

Klaus frowned at Five. "But this is my best outfit," he tried to argue. 

Five rolled his eyes and brushed past you on his way out of the room. "Let's get this over with," he called, leaving you to follow after him. 

Once you were at Meritech and had strong-armed your way into a meeting with a man named Lance, you started to doubt Five's plan. You knew Five could get any information he wanted. He'd been good at that when you were both Temps Commission agents. You just weren't sure if it was worth possibly getting arrested for when you could just as easily break in later and steal any information you needed. 

You glanced to Klaus, noticing he was watching Lance closely. You took a moment to consider him in your dad's suit. It was weird seeing Klaus in clothes your father had worn. It was also a bit surreal to see him in anything that wasn't his usual sartorial choices like his long coats, tight pants, or stolen skirts. You'd never really questioned Klaus' fashion, but seeing him in something others would deem 'normal,' had you itching to put him back in the clothes you knew he was most comfortable in. 

"I'm calling security," Lance said, reaching for his phone. 

"Oh, please do," Klaus said, a smirk slowly forming on his face as he leaned towards Lance. "I'm sure they'll be interested in knowing about the assault that took place here." 

Lance frowned up at Klaus. "What assault?" 

Klaus turned quickly and slapped Five, putting enough force behind the hit to send Five reeling. Five immediately held a hand up to his lip, sending Klaus a disbelieving glance. Klaus flashed a quick grin at Five before he turned his attention back towards Lance. "If that's not enough to get them worried," he started, trailing off as he picked up a snow globe sitting on the edge of Lance's desk. 

You knew whatever Klaus was about to do with that snow globe wouldn't be anything good. "Klaus," you called, briefly gaining his attention. "Are you sure?" 

Klaus winked at you before he smashed the snow globe into his forehead, sending glass and confetti everywhere. Klaus' hair was soaked within seconds and he dropped the remains of the knickknack to the floor. He reached forward to take the phone out of Lance's slack grip and held it up to his mouth. 

"There's been a fight. He's gone crazy! Please hurry before he hurts my wife next!" Klaus yelled before he hung up the phone. He reached up to pick a piece of glass out of his hair and held it out to Lance, as if he was offering him a treat. Klaus blinked a few drops of water out of his eyes, ignoring the blood starting to slowly drip down the side of his face. 

Lance stared up at Klaus with wide, shocked eyes. "You're a real sick bastard, you know that?" 

"Thank you," Klaus said. "So, are you going to give our kid what he wants or will we have to press charges? Because I've got to tell you, Grant--" 

"Lance," Lance tried to correct. 

"--you'll do great in prison," Klaus finished, ignoring Lance. "A little piece like you? Yeah, you'll do great." Klaus repeated with a smirk as he looked Lance over. 

Lance looked from Klaus to Five to you. He seemed as if he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say or do in this situation. You really didn't blame him. Lance looked like he was seconds away from pleading you and Five to take Klaus away. Five appeared to be amused enough to see how everything would play out. You had no intention of reeling in Klaus, either. You were only worried about Klaus’ casual way of hurting himself just to sell his act. 

Lance's eyes lingered on you for a moment. "I don't see a ring," he commented, frowning at your hand. You could tell Lance was starting to suspect that you weren't married to Klaus and that Five was not your son. That didn't deter Klaus, though. 

He slammed his hand down on Lance's desk, causing the man to jump and stare up at Klaus in fear. "Are you hitting on my bride? Do you want to add harassment to your charges as well?" 

"What? No!" Lance denied with a quick shake of his head. 

"So, it's not enough that you assault me and my precious baby boy," he said, reaching out to ruffle Five's hair, "but you make a pass at my wife?" 

Lance let out a shuddered breath. You felt a little bad for him, since the man looked like he was seconds away from an anxiety attack, but you knew that Meritech was hiding something. Most companies were. Lance was obviously in on something and Klaus seemed to be close to scaring it out of him. 

Five looked like he was annoyed with Klaus' proximity and he finally sighed and turned to you. He raised an eyebrow, silently asking you to intervene. 

You stepped forward, pulling the gun Arthur had gifted to you out of your coat pocket. You rested it on the edge of Lance's desk, letting him get a good look at it. "You can call our bluff all you want," you started, leaning forward until you were sure you had Lance's undivided attention. "But we're here and not going anywhere until you give us what we want. So, you can cough up the information or you can spend a few more minutes alone with my husband," you said, nodding over towards Klaus who was smirking at Lance. 

Klaus brought his hand up and wriggled his fingers in a wave. His gaze went dark as he considered Lance and you noticed Lance pale at Klaus’ expression. "I think we could have some fun, don't you, Lance?" He asked, his voice low. You had to fight to keep the grin off your face. 

Lance's eyes seemed impossibly wide as he shook his head. "I'll give you whatever the hell you want," he told you. "Just get him the hell out of here, okay?" 

"I can do that," you promised as you took a step away from the desk. You reached a hand back, smiling when you felt Klaus immediately grab it with his and press a kiss to your knuckles. You glanced back at him, feeling warm and content when you saw how satisfied he was with himself. "Good job," you mouthed to him. 

He winked at you before he glanced over to Lance. "So? Get on with it," Klaus demanded. 

Lance led you out to the files. You stood a few feet away, keeping an eye on your surroundings to make sure Lance really did call off security like he promised and wasn't trying to surprise you all with an ambush. You had no intention of killing security guards at a prosthetics company, but it wouldn't end well for them. 

You would also rather not make more of a scene and call more attention to what you were doing. Although, you figured Five with his split lip and Klaus with glass and glitter in his hair with dried blood down the side of his face likely called enough attention on their own. 

Lance rifled through the files, looking for information about the eye, while Five watched him. Klaus was leaning against the counter, his eyes intent on Lance. Every time Lance would glance up at Klaus, Klaus would lean just a little bit closer and lower his gaze a bit more. Lance looked like he didn't know what to do with Klaus' casual flirting and you had to hold back a laugh every time Lance sent a panicked look your way. 

Klaus had caught onto Lance’s discomfort early and was using it against him. You knew Klaus was secretly pleased with himself every time Lance looked like he was seconds away from making a run for it. Klaus was unapologetically being himself and you loved it. You had to keep yourself from giving away how amused you were with Klaus' antics, because you were sure it wouldn't do much to convince Lance you were actually a threat. 

Of course, because anything involved with stopping the apocalypse couldn’t be smooth sailing for once, there was no information about the eye. It didn't even officially exist yet. That meant that at some point in the next week, someone would lose an eye and be given the one Five found in the future. What worried you the most was that whoever it belonged to wasn't even on your radar yet. You were still no closer to saving the world and your only lead was worthless to you for the time being. 

You followed Five outside and watched him sit down on the steps leading up to Meritech. Klaus dropped down to sit beside him and patted him on the back. "Don't look so down, Five." 

Five sighed and glanced over at Klaus. You moved to stand behind them, watching to make sure no one was really paying attention to the three of you. 

"Did you have to slap me?" Five asked as he brought a hand up to brush his fingers over the cut that Klaus had left on his lip. 

"I saw an opportunity and I took my chance," Klaus offered with a shrug of his shoulders. He glanced back at you and winked. You suddenly remembered him telling you months before that he would slap Five the first chance he got for what he put you through while you were both Temps Commission agents. You fought to keep a smile off your face, knowing it would just encourage Klaus. You didn't want Five and Klaus to fight over anything as trivial as your honor. It wouldn't end well. 

Five rolled his eyes and moved to stand, shaking off Klaus' hand. "I'm going to go see Delores. At least she'll have something to contribute." 

You narrowed your eyes at Five. You knew he was stressed, but that didn't give him an excuse to be a dick. As far as you were concerned, Diego was the only one you were willing to let get away with that kind of behavior and that was only sometimes. 

"You really think your little girlfriend will have something better?" Klaus asked, not even acting as if he was aware of Five's steadily worsening mood. 

Five turned a glare on Klaus. "You don't know anything," he snapped. "Our one real clue and it's useless." 

"Maybe," Klaus conceded before he held a hand out. "But I did what you wanted, so pay up." 

Five rolled his eyes and took a step away from Klaus. " _You're_ useless," Five grumbled before he used his power to blink away from Klaus' side. 

Klaus scowled at the empty spot where Five had just been sitting. "That little fucker owes me," he growled, finally pushing himself to his feet. "You owe me!" Klaus yelled at Five who had jumped right into a taxi and waved at the both of you as it drove by. 

For a moment, you couldn’t help but think that for someone who wanted to be partners, Five sure had a habit of leaving you. 

"Come on," you told Klaus, reaching out to tug on the sleeve of his suit jacket. "Let's get back to the Academy and get you out of those clothes." 

Klaus turned a smirk on you, leaning forward to press a kiss to your cheek. "Yes, please," he purred before he turned and descended the rest of the steps. 

You couldn't quite manage to bite back your smile at him before you followed after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hazel and Cha-Cha show up in the next chapter. I'm so excited/nervous to write that part. I already have part of it written, but I'm hoping I do that whole fight justice.   
> Also, Five was a dick. I know. He doesn't quite get better, but he doesn't really get worse, so...well, not yet at least.


	3. Afraid to Light the Fuse Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for violence in this chapter.

Vanya had a rehearsal the next day. You figured if the world was ending, then you might as well take the time to do something you enjoyed. Listening to Vanya play and watching her indulge her love of music always put you in a better mood. 

You invited Klaus to go with you, but he declined. So, you stood by yourself outside the building where Vanya's orchestra performed and glanced around, waiting for her to show up. She was late, which had you worried, but Vanya never missed a rehearsal if she could help it. You knew she would show up sooner or later. 

You heard her cursing before you even saw her. You felt a smile stretch across your face as she came jogging up. "Shit, shit, shit, shit," she chanted, offering you a brief, harried smile before moving to enter the building. 

You followed her into the rehearsal space and took up your usual seat at the back. You reclined back in your seat and closed your eyes, waiting for the sounds of Vanya's rehearsal piece to reach you. 

It wasn't Vanya's best rehearsal. She seemed nervous about something and when you finally opened your eyes to watch her, you noticed she seemed a bit more unsettled than usual. You frowned as you straightened up in your seat, noting everyone's casual dismissal of her. You knew Vanya was an incredibly talented musician. You sure as hell couldn't play an instrument with the same passion and focus as her. But you couldn't help but think there was something a bit off about her. 

After Vanya's rehearsal, you followed her to the bathroom. You hopped up on the counter to wait for her, most of your attention on messing with the soap dispenser to your right. 

"Do you mind?" A woman's voice came from in front of you. You glanced up to see a woman you vaguely recognized as the violin first chair in Vanya's orchestra group. 

You shrugged and pulled your hand away from the dispenser. "By all means," you told her, gesturing for her to commence with washing her hands. 

Vanya came out of a stall and froze for a moment at the sight of the woman. "Hi, Helen," she called, moving forward cautiously as if she was worried the woman silently washing her hands beside you would somehow attack her. 

Helen turned and raised an eyebrow at Vanya, looking her up and down as if sizing her up before she went back to washing her hands. You felt your eyes narrow at the woman, not liking her disregard of Vanya. 

"You were really great today," Vanya continued, ducking her head in a nervous gesture. 

You studied the woman, Helen, and tried to subtly use your power on her. You had tried for months to build Vanya up and you would be damned if you let Helen or Luther or Diego tear her down. You could easily wrangle Diego or Luther if you had to, but Helen was a mystery to you. You felt a grin slowly stretch across your face as you watched Helen. 

She was in the middle of telling Vanya that she wasn't very good and should likely quit while she wasn't ahead if she wasn’t truly committed enough when you hopped down from the counter, gaining Helen's attention. "Vanya is an amazing musician," you told her. "And you know what, Helen? You're absolutely right to worry. He really doesn't love you as much as he loves his wife." 

“What did you just say?” Helen sounded almost scared as she rounded on you. 

“You heard me,” you said, tilting your head to the side as you considered her. 

You saw Helen's eyes go wide before she turned to hurry out of the bathroom. 

"Did you just--?" Vanya asked, tapping a finger against her temple. 

You nodded your head. "She deserved it," you offered with a shrug of your shoulders. "Don't listen to her, okay? You keep playing and fighting for her spot. She'll fall eventually." 

Vanya shot you a shy smile before she moved forward to wash her hands. "Thanks, Y/N. But I don't know..." she trailed off, a frown on her face. 

"Well, I know," you argued. 

Vanya seemed to grow more confident for a moment as she nodded her head. 

Once outside, you turned to bring Vanya into a hug. "I'll see you later?" You asked. "Are you sure you don't want to go back with me to the Academy?" 

"I have something I want to do," she told you, reaching up to brush a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "I should really do it before I chicken out." 

You raised an eyebrow in question. "Chicken out? What are you going to do?" 

"I met a guy," Vanya confessed as her cheeks reddened with a blush. "I don't know what I think of him yet, but I figured if the world is really ending soon, then there's no time like the present, right?" 

"Well, I'm happy for you, Vanya," you said, offering her a smile. You were surprised, though. Vanya was rarely one to just jump into something. You couldn't even remember her ever mentioning an interest in a relationship before. "What brought this on?" 

Vanya shrugged her shoulders. "He showed up for lessons, but there's just something about him. I don't know," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I guess I'm just trying not to live in my head too much." 

"There's nothing wrong with that," you tried to assure her. "But if he makes you happy, then I'm happy for you." 

"Thanks, Y/N." She glanced at her watch and grimaced. "I need to get going. I'll see you later?" 

"Count on it," you told her before you waved at her, watching her go. 

When you got back to the Academy, a part of you wondered if you should have stayed away when Luther announced he was calling a family meeting. 

"Where's Five?" He asked you when he noticed you. 

You raised an eyebrow at Luther. "Am I his keeper now?" 

"No, but you two are close. I thought you were with him." 

"I was with Vanya," you told Luther. "Not that it's any of your business." 

Klaus snorted from where he was leaning against the doorway to the living room. "Luther thinks everything is his business." 

Luther gave an exasperated sigh before he glanced from you to Klaus. "Will you two help me track him down? He should really be at the meeting." 

You shared a look with Klaus, both of you having an idea about where Five was in that moment. 

"Five won't want to be bothered," you tried to explain to Luther. "Whatever your meeting is about is not something he's going to care about right now." 

"I think I want to give Five a chance to answer for himself," Luther said, crossing his arms, even though it seemed to be difficult for him because of his bulk. 

"That's a first," you said. "If I help you find Five, are you going to accuse me of killing dad again?" 

"Look, I'm sorry about that. I no longer think it was you, okay?" 

"Oh, I'm so relieved," you mocked Luther, putting a hand to your chest. You sighed and glanced to Klaus, noticing the smirk on his face. "Come on, Luther. Klaus and I know where Five is," you told him before you turned towards the front door of the Academy. 

You helped Luther track Five down to a stolen van outside of Meritech. Luther drove the family car while you and Klaus took up the backseat. As you gave Luther directions and tried not to indulge Klaus’ wandering hands, you wondered if this was even a good idea. You likely could have tried harder to divert Luther, but you couldn’t deny watching Five shoot Luther down would likely be satisfying. 

The three of you snuck up on the van. Luther immediately moved to open the passenger seat door, but you settled for knocking on the window on Five’s side. 

"You're being obvious," you told him, startling him from where he was watching the building from the driver's seat of the van. "I thought you used to be better than this." 

"They're a prosthetics company," Five told you, rolling his eyes. "It's not like they have armed guards outside. There’s not much subterfuge needed." 

You shook your head and moved to join Klaus at the side of the van. You watched him pull open the door before he ushered you inside. You climbed into the van, rolling your eyes when you glanced back to see Klaus staring at your ass. "You're shameless," you said, a grin forming on your face. 

"Was there ever any doubt?" Klaus asked as he climbed into the van beside you and shut the door behind him. 

"What's this about?" Five asked, glancing over at Luther in the passenger seat. He then looked to you, raising an eyebrow in question. 

You held your hands up, shaking your head. "This is all Luther's idea," you said, nodding at Luther and ignoring his scowl. "Talk to him." 

Five turned a look on Luther, silently asking him why he was bothering him. You felt yourself smirk at the sight of it. 

"I'm calling a family meeting," Luther told Five. "We have something important to discuss." 

Five scoffed and turned his attention back towards Meritech, already dismissing Luther. "What I'm doing is more important, Luther." 

"Told you," you couldn’t help but point out to Luther. 

"We need you back at the Academy, Five," Luther tried, a frown on his face as he watched Five. 

Five rolled his eyes. "Jesus, Luther. We don’t need team meetings. We're not kids anymore.” 

Klaus snorted and reached forward to ruffle Five's hair. "You sure about that, buddy?" 

Five turned a glare on Klaus before he looked back at Luther. "I'm trying to save you all. I'd say that takes precedence over whatever little family meeting you want to have back at the house." 

Klaus pulled away from your side, but you kept your attention on Luther and Five. 

"You're a part of this family whether you want to be or not," Luther argued. "I can't believe you were gone all that time and you're still pulling this," Luther said as he gestured up and down at Five. 

"Pulling what?" Five asked, his attention back on the Meritech building. 

"This whole act like you're better than all of us." 

"I _am_ better than all of you," Five snapped. He shot you a quick glance. "Almost all of you." 

Luther looked back at you, his eyes narrowed. "You know, you could help me out here. Five will listen to you." 

"Luther, I told you this was a bad idea. If you won't listen to me, why would I ask Five to?" 

Luther scowled at you before his attention was caught by Klaus. "What are you doing?" 

You turned to see Klaus attempting to make out with Delores. 

"No!" You yelled, reaching out to take Delores from Klaus. You smoothed a hand over her head and winced at Five. "Sorry, Five," you said, knowing that Five loved Delores more than anyone else. Watching anyone put their hands on her when they weren’t supposed to always made him upset. 

"All of you need to get out," Five seethed as he moved to take Delores from you. "Leave me the hell alone and go have your meaningless little meeting back at the mansion while I try to save all of your asses." 

"Five," you breathed, feeling stung. 

"What, Y/N?" He snapped, turning a glare on you. "You of all people know what had to be done to get back here. You're humoring them with their family meetings and bonding when you should be taking this more seriously." 

You bit your lip and nodded your head, moving to leave the van. "When you realize what a dick you're being," you started, sliding open the van door, "then come find me." You pushed yourself out of the van and walked off, not even waiting for Klaus or Luther to catch up to you. 

You were so angry your hands were shaking and you wanted nothing more than to yell and scream at Five. You were supposed to be partners. You were supposed to be in this together. If all he was going to do was act like you weren’t of any use to him, then you didn’t have to stay in his presence and take it. 

You heard footsteps running towards you before a hand slipped into yours. 

"Forget Five," Klaus said, swinging your clasped hands. "He's just a grumpy old man." 

"Maybe he's right," you muttered as you got closer to the family car parked just down the street. "Maybe I should be doing more. I've gotten complacent." 

"No," Klaus argued, tugging on your hand until you stopped and faced him. "No way. You've been training and working your ass off for months. Don't let Five bring you down when you’ve been taking this more seriously than any of us." 

You glanced away from him, not sure if you agreed. You'd had six months to stop the apocalypse, so why weren't you any closer to figuring anything out? "Thanks, Klaus," you said, offering him an uncertain smile. 

"Hey,” Klaus said, tugging on your arm until you finally looked at him. “I know you," Klaus whispered, meeting your eyes. 

He didn't say anything else, but that was really all that needed to be said. You leaned forward to kiss him, laughing into his mouth when he immediately pulled you closer. You weren't sure how long you stood there basically making out in the middle of the sidewalk when you were interrupted by someone clearing their throat. 

"Still weird," Luther muttered as he brushed past you. "Let's get back to the Academy." 

Klaus rolled his eyes and moved to follow Luther, keeping his hold on your hand. 

"So, how are things going with you and Allison?" You couldn't help but ask as you let Klaus tug you along behind him. 

Luther stumbled, but quickly righted himself. "I don't know what you're talking about," he tried to deflect. 

You smirked at him as you moved to get into the backseat of the car. 

Once back at the Academy, you were having trouble trying to process the reason for the family meeting. 

"So, you essentially want to kill Mom?" You asked Luther. "You were just accusing me of killing our father and you want to kill the closest thing to a functioning parent we ever had?" 

"It's not killing her," Luther attempted to argue. "We're just turning her off." 

Diego snorted and turned away from Luther. "You've got to be fucking kidding me." 

You listened to the others bicker and argue over the merits of turning Grace off. You'd watched the surveillance video Allison and Luther found, but you still couldn't fathom the thought of harming Grace in any way. You couldn't understand why she would just let your father die, either. She'd stood there and watched and didn't once try to administer aid. It was suspicious, obviously, but if there was anything you'd learned from dealing with your father and his endless mysteries, there was always more to it than what you initially thought. 

Once they started voting, you'd decided you had enough of the conversation. 

"Oh, come on, guys. If Grace did it, then it's only because..." You trailed off, thinking over the implications. If Grace stood back and let your dad die, then was it because it was something your father wanted? Your father had always had some form of control over Grace. If she failed to act and save his life, then did he do it on purpose? Did your father mean to die? 

"Because of what?" Luther asked, a frown on his face. 

You shook your head, still trying to get your thoughts in order. "Nothing," you denied. You couldn't tell the others what you now suspected. If it was rocking your whole worldview to think that your father had deliberately let himself die, then you weren't sure what it would do to the others. Finding your father's journal was bumped up higher on your priority list. It was the most likely place to find all the answers you needed. 

"So how do you vote, Y/N?" 

You shook your head again, waving off Luther's question. "I'm neutral," you answered. You didn't want to make a decision until you knew for sure what was going on. 

Klaus grabbed your hand, raising it in the air. "The neutrals have it," he proclaimed. 

"You said you sided with me," Diego reminded Klaus. 

"Yeah, well," Klaus said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I agree with you and Y/N. Anyone but Luther," Klaus amended. 

Everyone dispersed soon after that. Klaus told you he wanted to take a bath and you knew you wanted to look for your father's journal. 

You watched Klaus gather up his headphones and cassette player to take with him to the bathroom. You loved that Klaus always had a whole routine centered around his bath time. You knew that if he could get away with it, then he would spend hours in the tub. 

"See you later," you told him before you kissed him on the cheek. 

"Hey," Klaus called, tugging you back to him when you moved to leave. "Don't take too long," he told you. "I don't actually plan on sleeping much tonight," he added with a smirk. 

"Sounds perfect," you said before you let him pull you into a kiss. 

Once you’d managed to detach yourself from Klaus, you made your way back to your father's office. You figured if the journal was anywhere, then it would be there. You weren't sure how long you spent rifling through his desk and cabinets, but you didn't find the journal. You thought about checking out his bedroom next, so you planned to go let Klaus know you'd be later than you originally thought. You wanted nothing more than to fall into bed with Klaus and spend all night learning him over and over, but you couldn't shake Five's words from earlier. There was a lot more going on than you understood and if tracking down your father's journal gave you any piece of the puzzle, then you would have to take it. 

You were on your way to the bathroom when you heard gunfire coming from the hallway with the bedrooms. You didn't even think twice before you rushed in the direction of the noise. When you got there, you managed to peek around the corner into the hallway. You knew it had to be Hazel and Cha-Cha, but you still couldn't help the spike of fear you felt at the sight of them. You were ready for them, but you really didn't want to have this fight in your childhood home. 

They had their guns up and their masks off. What you couldn't figure out was why they'd fired their guns in the first place and if they'd found one of the others before you found them. You tamped down on the sick feeling in your gut that they'd already killed one of the others before you made yourself known by stepping out into the hallway. 

"Hazel and Cha-Cha," you called. "I've missed you," you told them with a wink. "How's business?" 

"You know damn well how business has been," Cha-Cha snapped. 

"You've got a kill order?" You asked despite knowing the answer. 

Hazel nodded his head, a solemn expression on his face. "For Five," he answered. "For you too." 

You smirked at the pair before you. "Then let's do this," you said, already beginning to raise your hand in case you needed to call up a force field. 

You heard footsteps running towards you and glanced to the side to see Diego rounding the corner. 

"Run, Y/N!" Diego yelled, wrapping an arm around your waist and pulling you down the hallway leading towards the living room. 

"Damn it, Diego! I had that," you yelled, just as you heard the sound of gunfire. 

You threw up a force field and allowed Diego to usher you away from Hazel and Cha-Cha. 

He pulled you into the living room and you turned to look at him, noticing the blood trickling down his temple. "They got you," you commented with a scowl. "Listen, get the others out of here. I can handle them." 

Diego shook his head. "I'm not leaving you." 

"Diego," you snapped. "Get Klaus out of here. Get everyone else out of here. They're not safe. Vanya isn't either. She hasn't had the training for this. Only I can do this." 

Diego growled something under his breath before you were interrupted by the sound of more gunfire. You shielded Diego with a force field as you made for the foyer, trusting him to listen to you for once. Of course, you should have known better. 

You were alone when you made your way into the foyer. You felt relief at the thought that Diego had actually taken your directions, but you noticed it was a little too quiet. You glanced around, knowing that if Hazel and Cha-Cha were going to come for you, then this would be the best place to fight. If you needed an escape, then you had the living room and numerous other possible ways to evade an attack. 

"Here I am!" You yelled, holding your arms out as you slowly turned in a circle. "Come do your fucking jobs!" 

You heard shuffling feet behind you and turned just in time to dodge a punch from Hazel. You kicked out his knee and ducked to avoid Cha-Cha aiming her gun at you. You pulled up a force field and pushed it at Cha-Cha, forcing her to stumble backwards before you turned your attention on Hazel. Hazel took a swing at you and you grabbed his arm, using his momentum to propel him into the table sitting in the middle of the foyer. 

Cha-Cha took a shot at the force field, but it held up. When the bullet ricocheted, she quickly pocketed her gun and didn't try again. As you turned your focus on Hazel, you noticed Cha-Cha leaving your field of vision. She must have finally realized she wouldn't be able to attack from that angle, so was likely going to try to surprise you from another. It didn't matter, though. You could send Hazel to sleep and just as quickly take on Cha-Cha by yourself. 

You should have known it wouldn't go to plan, though. You noticed Cha-Cha rounding the corner back into the foyer from the living room. You also didn't fail to notice Diego, Luther, and Allison join the fight right behind her. 

"What the fuck, Diego?" You yelled, dodging a hit from Hazel and dropping to the floor so he would stumble over you when he moved in your direction. 

You heard Hazel curse just as Cha-Cha turned her attention on the others. 

"These assholes are here for you and Five?" Diego asked. "Then we're not going to let them take you." 

Allison was fighting Cha-Cha and you pulled up a force field between them just as Cha-Cha moved to hit Allison. Her fist rebounded off the field and she cursed. She shook out her fist before she turned and fled. You moved to put up a force field to stop her, but a hit from Hazel had you stumbling back, clutching your jaw. 

"Fuck," you hissed. You turned just in time to see Luther tackle Hazel. 

When you glanced at where Cha-Cha had been, you noticed Diego and Allison were also gone. This definitely was not going how you needed it to go. With the others involved, there was only so much you were willing to do. You didn't want them to get in the way and possibly get hurt. Diego was likely the only one who realized this was meant to be a fight to the death. You couldn’t help but think Luther and Allison weren’t prepared for this threat. 

At least with Luther and Hazel squaring off, you couldn't help but think that their bulk was likely to cancel each other out. If anything, Luther had the advantage in that department. And with you to help him, there was no way Hazel stood a chance. 

You threw yourself into the fight, trading punches and attacking Hazel when Luther couldn't. You knew that between the both of you, Hazel would be easy to take down. 

Hazel got in a punch at Luther that sent him reeling. You were quick to attack, but you weren't prepared for Hazel to duck and use your movement against you to throw you over his shoulder. You groaned when you hit the floor, feeling breathless for a moment as you tried to push yourself to get back up. 

"Guys?" You heard Vanya call and you felt your eyes go wide. "I thought I heard gunshots. What's going on?" 

Of anyone, Vanya and Klaus were the least equipped to handle Hazel and Cha-Cha. Either Klaus was still taking a bath or he was in his room. Vanya was just stepping into the foyer and in immediate danger. 

"Vanya," you tried to get out, but it came out as a croak. "Get the fuck out of here," you warned her as you pushed yourself to your feet. 

You launched yourself at Hazel, putting up a force field that would shield Vanya. Luther seemed to have the same idea as you, though, because you both collided with Hazel, sending all three of you to the floor. You felt dazed for a moment, blinking helplessly up at the ceiling. 

Out of the corner of your eyes, you noticed Hazel get to his feet. Your force field had dropped when you hit Hazel and Luther and you knew that Vanya wasn’t protected. You rolled over on the floor, attempting to push yourself up to get between him and Vanya, but you weren't quick enough. Vanya ducked Hazel's first hit and even managed to get in one of her own. It was when Hazel went to hit her a second time that she seemingly froze. You saw his fist connect with the corner of her jaw and saw Vanya go down. 

You threw yourself at Hazel, forcing him to turn away from Vanya and focus on you. You noticed Luther finally manage to get himself off the floor and both of you were back at it again. 

You couldn’t help but notice that working with Luther to take down a bad guy had you feeling like it was the old days again for one brief moment. 

Luther landed a hit that sent Hazel spinning in your direction and you were quick to form your own attack. Between the two of you, Hazel didn't have a prayer of winning and he knew it. After a particularly rough hit from Luther, Hazel managed to take out his gun from the waistband of his pants and aim it at Luther. You swiftly pulled up a force field, protecting Luther. Hazel was quick to point the gun in your direction and fired off a shot. You shielded yourself and ducked, managing to avoid getting hit. 

When you glanced back up, Hazel was gone. 

"Shit," you hissed before you pulled down the force fields. "Go check on Vanya," you instructed Luther before you took off. 

You were limping slightly, since Hazel had managed to land a kick to the back of your knee. It wasn't enough to stop you from pursuing him, though. You ran down the hallway you thought Hazel must have taken, tracing a path all the way to the back of the mansion. You didn't find him anywhere, though. You searched for at least ten minutes before you had to concede to the fact that Hazel was likely nowhere near the Academy by that point. 

You made your way back to the foyer. You couldn't help but consider the idea that you would have been able to successfully take on Hazel and Cha-Cha if the others weren't in the line of fire. You'd gotten distracted from your ultimate goal which was to take care of Hazel and Cha-Cha once and for all. You hated to think it, but maybe Five was right. Maybe you shouldn't have allowed the others to get involved. 

You limped back into the foyer and noticed that while you were gone, the chandelier had fallen. You frowned down at it and then into the living room where Diego, Vanya, and Allison were sitting on the couches. 

"What the hell happened?" You asked, gesturing towards the chandelier. "Is she gone? Where's Luther?" 

"She's gone," Diego confirmed. "And I'll fill you in on Luther later," he said with a wave of his hand. "I want to know what the hell you were thinking fighting that guy," he added when he turned his focus on Vanya. "He could have killed you." 

"I've been training," Vanya tried to point out. 

"And yet you still froze. Face it, Vanya. You're not cut out for this." 

Allison winced as she turned to look at Vanya, reaching out to brush her fingers over the cut on Vanya’s cheek. "Maybe he's right," she started. 

"Oh, because both of you were such formidable opponents in your first real fight? Diego, I remember you tripping and falling right on your face the first time you faced someone that wasn't one of us." 

Diego shot a glare your way, but Vanya simply shook her head. 

"Maybe he's right, Y/N. I shouldn't have tried to help." 

"Vanya, you just haven't had the training we all have. We have years of this to fall back on. You've only been going a few months." 

Vanya sighed and stood up from the couch, waving off Allison's look of concern. "I'm just going to go home." 

"It's not safe," you tried to argue. If Hazel and Cha-Cha had found the Academy, then what was to stop them from tracking down Vanya? "You could spend the night here," you offered. 

"No, I think I'm just going to go," she said, shooting you a sad smile. "But thanks." 

You watched her go before you reached out to smack the back of Diego's head. Diego hissed and scowled up at you. "What the hell, Y/N?" 

"I know you care, but you have a hell of a way of showing it," you told him, frowning down at him. 

"You know I'm right," he said. "She shouldn't have been fighting. Especially against trained killers," he added, raising an eyebrow at you as if daring you to argue. 

You rolled your eyes and then glanced over to Allison where she was sitting and watch you and Diego fight. 

“And what was that whole thing about, Allison?” Diego asked as he leaned forward in his seat. “You’re not using your power anymore? You could have easily rumored that woman.” 

“What?” You asked, looking to Allison in surprise. You couldn’t think of any reason for Allison to willingly give up her power, but it must have been a compelling one. 

Her face had gone blank and she shook her head. “It’s been a long night,” she said. “I don’t want to get into it now.” 

You glanced from her back to Diego. You thought of Vanya's departure and the fact that Luther had likely gone to his room after whatever happened once you left to pursue Hazel. Five was probably still tracking down Meritech leads. The only person missing was Klaus and last time you checked he had definitely been in the Academy when Hazel and Cha-Cha attacked. 

"Shit," you breathed before you took off running, doing your best to ignore the pain in your leg. You were already aching from bruises you were sure were forming all over your body, but you didn't care. You ran to the bathroom and saw the tub was drained and a trail of water leading away towards the door. You followed the trail all the way to Klaus' bedroom. You hoped that he was in there. Klaus had been listening to music so it was entirely possible he just hadn't heard the chaos going on in the Academy. 

You took a deep breath and steeled yourself, slowly opening his bedroom door. 

"Klaus?" You called, glancing into the room and doing a quick sweep of it. You felt fear begin to overtake you at the sight of the empty room. 

He wasn't there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter kicked my ass. I just really struggled with it. I'm not totally happy with it, but listening to the Umbrella Academy soundtrack definitely helped me out. Please be gentle. 😂  
> Any comments, kudos, or bookmarks for this fic are always greatly appreciated. Thank you to everyone keeping this going. ♥


	4. Start a Fire and Lose a Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some violence in this chapter.

You checked as much of the Academy as you could, but after you cleared most of the rooms downstairs, you had to acknowledge the fact that Klaus was likely gone. You found yourself rushing back to the living room once you realized Klaus wasn’t in the mansion. You weren't sure what you really thought you would do, but a plan was slowly coming together in your mind. 

Allison and Diego were still there when you walked into the living room. Both of them looked to you in concern, but you quickly waved Allison off when she moved to stand up. You glanced at Diego, knowing he would understand. 

"They took Klaus," you told him. 

"Are you sure?" He asked as he moved to stand, facing you. 

"It's what we would have done," you said, referring to you and Five. Take a hostage, torture them for information, and kill them when they were no longer useful. That was Temps Commission standard operating procedure. You and Five didn't always adhere to it, but Hazel and Cha-Cha sure as hell would. 

“What you would have done?” Allison asked as she looked to you. “What are you talking about?” 

"What are you going to do?" Diego asked as he moved closer to you, ignoring Allison’s questions. 

"I'm going to look for him," you offered helplessly with a shrug of your shoulders. "It's all I can do for now. I just wanted to tell you so you wouldn’t think I had gone missing too." 

Diego watched you for a few moments before he nodded his head, seemingly coming to a decision. "I'll go with you." 

"Diego, when I find them, I'm going to kill them." You shook your head, already making a list of places you would check out. Warehouses. Seedy motels. Abandoned office buildings. The city offered plenty of options, so you knew you would be busy for the rest of the night. "I don't want you getting mixed up in something like this.” 

Diego moved until he was standing in front of you. "Let me help you. You never want to let me help, so let me this time. I care about him too." 

"Uh, guys?" Allison called, gaining the attention of both of you for the first time. "What the hell are you two talking about?" 

You waved her off. "It's something I'll have to explain later. There isn’t time right now." 

Allison frowned, looking as if she wanted to press the issue, before she sighed. "Well, if you two are going after those guys, then I'm coming with you." 

"I need you here," you told Allison. "If Klaus comes back, then I need someone to tell him where I went. I don’t want him to be alone." 

Allison watched you for a few more moments, as if she was thinking about arguing, before she seemed to think better of it. She nodded her head, settling back into the couch. 

"Thank you," you told her before you turned and headed in the direction of your room. 

"Where are you going?" Diego asked, worry in his tone. 

"My room," you answered, knowing it wasn't really what Diego was asking. You didn't want to tell him you were going for your gun. You were going to prepare yourself for the eventuality that you would kill Hazel and Cha-Cha. Would you feel remorse for killing them? No. Not likely. The Temps Commission had turned you into a killer and you were just going to repay them the best way you knew how thanks to their training. If they wanted to take Klaus away from you, then you were going to show them why that was a very bad idea. 

You went straight for where you kept your gun and started checking it over. 

"So, you're serious," Diego said from the doorway of your room. "You're going to kill them." 

"Yes," you answered honestly. "You don't know them like I do. They're just going to keep coming after us until they kill me or Five. They're likely to kill Klaus." You pulled in a deep breath before you finally turned to look at Diego. "You can still back out." 

Diego shook his head. "No. If you're going, then I'm going." 

"Then let's go," you told him as you brushed past him. 

Diego volunteered his car for the possible rescue mission. "It's better than walking around town all night," he offered as he directed you to climb into the passenger seat. 

“Thanks,” you told him once he settled in the driver’s seat. “You don’t have to go with me, but it means a lot that you are.” 

Diego shrugged his shoulders. “You’re both family,” he told you before he started the car. 

You couldn’t quite hold back your smile as you turned to glance out the window. 

You weren't sure what you expected out of the night. You had hoped that you would find Hazel and Cha-Cha and take care of them before they could prove to be a bigger problem for you. You thought you would save Klaus and take him home and make sure he was okay. You thought that you would be doing anything other than fruitlessly checking warehouse after warehouse without any clue as to the whereabouts of Klaus. 

With each empty warehouse, you felt your confidence wane bit by bit. Diego tried to distract you by filling you in about what happened with Luther. 

"Wow," you breathed. "Dad was way more fucked up than I thought." 

Diego huffed out a breath. "You know, that was my first thought too," he said as he took a turn that would bring you closer to another warehouse. "Don't get me wrong. I hated the guy and for good reason," he continued as he pulled the car into an empty lot. "But I got to thinking about what could make him do something like that to Luther..." Diego trailed off with a shake of his head. "And then I remembered what dad was like after we lost Ben. I always thought he shut himself off from us before, but that was a whole different level. It was the only time I ever thought that dad might actually give a damn about any of us." 

You reached out to put a hand on Diego's shoulder. "I'm sorry," you told him. You were sorry for not being there for Ben. You were sorry for not being there for the others while they were grieving. You always wondered if you could have saved Ben if you had just stayed at the breakfast table that morning. If Five had never gotten into an argument with your dad and if he had never jumped into the future, then would Ben have stood a chance? You cleared your throat and attempted to lighten the mood. "But hey, I'm proud of you." 

Diego frowned at you as he parked the car. "Proud of me for what?" 

"That was shockingly mature of you," you told him with a smirk. 

Diego rolled his eyes and moved to get out of the car. "Let's go clear this place so we can move onto the next one." 

After a few hours of searching, you told Diego he should leave you to go get some rest. 

"I'm not leaving you," he argued. "I don't want you to be alone." 

"I'll go home after the next one," you told him. It was a lie, but he didn't need to know that. 

Diego quirked an eyebrow at you, as if attempting to call your bluff. "Then I'll just wait until you're done with that one." 

"I can just as easily make you sleep and drop you off somewhere," you reminded him. "Just let me do this, Diego. I'll be fine." 

Diego narrowed his eyes at you before he finally sighed. "Fine. But you're taking my car. I’ll go back to the Academy to wait for you," he told you. "I'll steal dad's old car if I need to get somewhere." 

"Thanks, Diego," you said. You knew he didn't want to leave you, but you had no intention of stopping that night. You would look until you couldn't anymore. You had to know if Klaus was still alive and until you knew, you wouldn’t be able to relax. If you couldn’t crawl into bed with Klaus, then you didn't see the point of sleeping. 

The ride back to the Academy was quiet. Diego seemed to realize you weren’t up for talking and you weren’t even sure you knew what to say in that moment. 

Diego finally broke the silence as you moved to get into the driver’s seat. 

"Just one more," he reminded you as he leaned down to look through the driver’s side window. "And then you're coming back here. And if you find them, then you don't go in alone. You come and get me." 

"Sure," you agreed easily before you put the car in drive, ignoring Diego’s noise of protest. You waved to him as you pulled away, all of your focus turning to potential hideouts for Hazel and Cha-Cha. 

You knew that if you found Hazel and Cha-Cha, then you weren't going to wait. You loved Diego and you absolutely trusted him to have your back, but you weren't going to let them out of your sight once you had them. 

You spent the rest of the night searching for Klaus. Every place was a dead end. With each failed attempt to find him or Hazel and Cha-Cha, you felt weariness creep in just a little bit more. By the time the sky was beginning to turn light with the first few hints of morning, you decided to finally go back to the Academy. 

You managed to drag yourself inside the mansion feeling exhausted and defeated. The mansion seemed eerily still and quiet as you trudged past the living room and towards the staircase. You waited there for a moment, listening for a hint that anyone else was around, before you finally heard the faint murmur of voices. 

You went up the stairs and followed the sound all the way to Five's room. You found Diego and Luther arguing inside and you moved to lean against the doorframe. Your eyes were burning with exhaustion and you felt like you should probably mainline at least five cups of coffee, but watching Luther and Diego bicker over something somehow took precedence. 

"Why are you two in Five's room?" You finally asked, interrupting them. 

Diego turned quickly at the sound of your voice. "Where the hell have you been? You said you were coming back." 

You shrugged your shoulders as you took a few steps into the room. "I lied." 

Diego glared at you, but Luther cut in before he could say anything. 

"We want to look for Five. He should know about those two that broke into the Academy." 

"Why?" You couldn't help but ask. "Five is doing what he wants to do. He's looking into something," you caught yourself at the last moment, shooting a quick look at Luther. You really didn't have it in you at the moment to brief him on the apocalypse and everything else. 

"He could be in danger," Diego pointed out. 

" _Klaus_ is in danger," you reminded Diego. "Look, I only came home so I could figure out my next move. If you two are going to go off and do something that isn't worth your time, then that's your business." 

You turned to leave, but was stopped by Luther. 

"Y/N," he called softly. 

You thought he was going to try to convince you to join them, but what he said next shocked you. 

"Mom's gone. It was them. The ones who broke in last night looking for you and Five. They killed her." 

You glanced quickly to Diego, knowing he was closer to Mom than anyone, but he was carefully not looking at you. You couldn't think of a reason for Hazel or Cha-Cha to go after Grace. With the way she had been acting lately, you couldn't imagine she was much of a threat. It didn't make sense to you, but if she had been killed the night before, then they were the only ones who could have done it. 

"Oh," you breathed, not sure what else to say. You noticed the devastated look on Diego's face and the expression on Luther's like he was lost. You sighed and finally turned to leave the room. "Come on, guys. I'll help you find Five." 

At any rate, you couldn't help but think that Five would likely be a hell of a lot easier to track down than Klaus. If you found Five, then maybe he would even help you search for Klaus. You weren't going to hold your breath, but it was a nice thought. 

You led Luther and Diego to the place you were most likely to find Five. You assumed you would leave them at the van outside of Meritech or attempt to get Five to abandon his self-appointed reconnaissance mission and help you. What surprised you upon arriving was the sight of a destroyed Meritech and no trace of Five. 

"Shit," you hissed as you looked up at the remains of the building before you. You stood beside the van, staring helplessly up at what was left of Meritech, as Diego and Luther searched through the van for a clue about Five's whereabouts. You knew that Five had hoped Meritech would lead him to the person who started the apocalypse. If Meritech was gone, then there truly was no hope for finding out the identity of the person who brought the world crumbing down. 

"Y/N," Diego called from inside the van. 

You tore your eyes away from the building in front of you to look at Diego. He was holding up a copy of Vanya's book. He tapped the stamp on the title page that marked it as property of the Argyle Public Library. 

"I think I know where he went. You still with us?" 

You glanced back up at Meritech. You knew that wherever Five was at the moment, he was hurting. You knew very well that if Five was hurting, then he was likely doing something reckless or idiotic. As much as you wanted to break away from Luther and Diego so that you could continue your hunt for Klaus, you knew that they would likely need your help to get through to Five. 

"Yeah," you finally answered. "I'm still with you." 

You managed to track Five down at the Argyle Public Library. He was passed out in a corner on the second floor, clutching Delores and a bottle of wine to himself. You noticed the concerned spectators and the way Luther and Diego hesitated at seeing Five in such a vulnerable state. 

You suddenly felt every hour of sleep you didn't get the night before. Your main concern in that moment was Klaus. He was being held by Hazel and Cha-Cha and you had no real way of knowing what they were doing to him or if he was even still alive. You couldn't help but think that you had gone through hell being there for Five while you were both working for the Temps Commission and when you needed him most, he was passed out drunk in the library. 

You sighed and moved until you were standing in front Five. You leaned down to lightly slap Five's face. "Wake up," you told him as you moved to take Delores from Five. "Here, hold her," you instructed Luther, ignoring his bewildered expression, before you turned back to Five. 

Five groaned before he opened his eyes just enough to look up at you. "Can't you leave an old man alone to drink in peace?" 

"You're not an old man anymore, Five," you pointed out. 

"I _feel_ like an old man," Five told you. "This body is a curse," he moaned. 

"You like being young again, you little shit. Don't lie to me," you snapped. "You think I want to be here? You don't think I have more important things going on?" 

"Why are you yelling at me?" Five grumbled and closed his eyes again. 

You crouched down in front of Five, getting his attention again by reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, you paying attention?" 

He blinked his eyes open and then nodded his head. 

"We went through hell to get back here and I'm not going to let you give up now. I'll fix this. I'll fix everything if I fucking have to, but getting blitzed when we're only a few days from the apocalypse is not the answer. Got it?" 

He squinted at you, barely concealing a hiccup. "Since when am I the mess and you're the one getting everything done?" 

His words stung, but you let it slide for now. "Sober up," you told him. "We've got a world to save." 

You turned away from Five to look up at Diego and Luther. 

"Get him somewhere else and get him in fighting shape. I might need him," you told them before you stood up. 

"Wait," Diego said as he reached out to grab your arm. "Where are you going?" 

"I'm going back to the Academy," you told him. 

"I can go with you," Diego offered. 

"No," you told him with a shake of your head. "Luther's going to need help with Five." 

You didn't give him a chance to argue with you. You turned and left, not waiting to hear if he had anything else to say. You were feeling defeated as you made your way back to the Academy. You knew there were so many other places you still had to check, but a part of you couldn't help but hope that Klaus would somehow miraculously be back in his room when you got back. 

You hoped more than anything that it was some big misunderstanding. Maybe he wasn't with Hazel and Cha-Cha. Maybe he had to leave the Academy for something completely unrelated. Maybe he was alive and well and you were just fooling yourself. Maybe all of your time with the Temps Commission had made you paranoid. Maybe, you thought to yourself, you were just trying to placate yourself when you knew without a doubt that Klaus was in danger. 

When you finally got back to the Academy, you couldn't help but feel like you were only a few moments away from losing it. You knew the more time Klaus spent with Hazel and Cha-Cha, the more likely it was that he had been hurt. Your stomach clenched uncomfortably at the thought of Klaus being tortured. He was likely scared and hurt and going through withdrawal. You didn’t know what kind of state you would find him in, but you knew that you were ready to kill Hazel and Cha-Cha for touching him. 

You were making your way back towards the bedrooms when you were brought short by the sound of the phone ringing. You knew besides Pogo, you were likely the only one in the Academy capable of answering the phone. You trailed back towards the kitchen and picked up the phone. 

"Umbrella Academy," you said, wondering who would even bother calling. 

"This is Eudora Patch," came the voice on the other line. "I'm looking for Diego Hargreeves." 

"This is his sister," you told her. You knew it was really the only word you had to explain what you were to Diego. You vaguely remembered Diego telling you about a woman he called Patch. You also remembered him mentioning she was a detective. "Why are you looking for Diego?" 

"He told me his brother was missing," she informed you. "I think I've found information regarding his whereabouts." 

"Where?" You asked, feeling hope for the first time that you would see Klaus soon. 

"I was looking to talk to Diego about this," she said, sounding unsure. 

"That brother Diego was looking for? That's my boyfriend," you told her. 

"I thought you were Diego's sister?" She asked, confusion coming through in her tone. 

"Look, I can't get into that explanation now. It's going to seem weird to you, I know, but that's not important right now. Give me an address," you told her. “I’ll pass the information on to Diego,” you lied. 

There was silence on the other end of the line before you heard Patch sigh. 

You waited for Patch to give you the motel information before you hung up. You rushed to grab the keys to the old family car before you left the Academy. You had to use your very limited memory of the streets of the town to get to your destination, but you managed to pull into the parking lot of the motel not long after your call with Patch ended. 

You were quick to get out of the car, not even caring that you were leaving it unlocked. All you could focus on at the moment was that Klaus was somewhere in the motel and you had to find him. 

You noticed a woman you vaguely recognized as you walked towards the front office of the motel. You realized she was the cop Diego had been so interested in when he brought you to visit Klaus when he was in jail. She was Diego’s ex-girlfriend. 

You saw her arguing with the motel clerk and from the look of frustration on her face, she wasn't getting far with him. 

"Patch?" You called as you walked into the office. 

Patch turned to frown at you. "Yes?" 

"I'm Y/N. Diego's sister," you clarified for her as you moved to join her at the counter. 

She nodded her head as she considered you. You assumed she recognized you as well. She cleared her throat and then gestured towards the motel clerk. "He won't give me a room number." 

"I told your cop friend to return with a warrant. My customers pay for my discretion," the motel clerk said, looking smug as he looked at you. 

"She may be a cop," you started as you moved to pull your gun from your waistband. "But I'm not." You reached out to quickly grab a fistful of his shirt and pressed the muzzle of the gun under his chin. "So, you're going to give _me_ the information and I won't kill you." 

"What the hell? You can't just stand there and let her do this!" The guy looked to Patch, pleading with her to intervene. 

Patch met your eyes before she slowly turned until her back was to you. "I'm sorry," she said. "I'm not quite sure what you're talking about." 

"You're a cop!" The man yelled, an incredulous expression on his face. "Protect and serve, right?" 

"If you don't shut the hell up and give me that room number, there won't be much left of you to protect," you told him. "Room. Number. Now." 

The motel clerk quickly nodded his head and turned to go through his records. He kept glancing back at you as he shuffled through the papers and you made sure to keep your gun leveled on him. 

"Here," he said, shoving the papers at you. "Only ones who checked in recently. They should be in that room." 

You glanced down at the papers before you nodded at him. "Thank you for your cooperation," you told him. "Now go to sleep." 

The man's eyes rolled up into his head before he fell to the floor. 

You turned to look at Patch, noticing an amused smirk on her face. 

"I can see how you're related to Diego," she said. 

"Diego isn't quite as ruthless as I'm feeling," you told her with a shake of your head. Would Diego do what it took to protect his loved ones? Definitely. But he hadn't been shaped by the Temps Commission as you had. He didn't know what it was like to kill someone because you had to survive to fight another day. 

"So, are we going?" Patch asked. "Which room are they in?" 

You offered her a smile as you moved to stand next to her. "Thanks for calling me," you told Patch. "Now leave." 

She frowned at you and shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere." 

"You are," you told her, not wanting to argue. "We don't have time for this. They have my boyfriend and I'm going to save him. _You_ have no idea what you're up against." 

"I'm a trained law enforcement officer," she argued. "I think I can hold my own." 

You bit your lip before you sighed, knowing what you had to do. "You really don't," you told her before you moved to leave the office. When she moved to follow you, you quickly pulled up a force field to block her from leaving. You knew that it would drop once you were out of range, but that would give you enough time to get up to the room Hazel and Cha-Cha had booked and do what you intended to do. 

You didn’t even turn to look at Patch as you left. You knew she would be annoyed that you were leaving her behind, but at least you hadn’t put her to sleep like the motel clerk. You were saving her the only way you knew how and you hoped she would realize that. 

You kept quiet as you crept towards the room, knowing that you would have very little time to act. Hazel and Cha-Cha had received the same training as you. They were trained to shoot first and asks questions later. If you did this right, then you wouldn't give them an opportunity to even draw their guns. 

As you got closer to the room, you could hear a thumping noise coming from inside. You frowned at the door once you were standing outside of it before you took a deep breath, steeling yourself for whatever you were about to find. 

You noticed a woman on the cleaning staff just a few doors down and waved to get her attention. You were quick to show her your gun before you asked for the room key that would allow you into the room. She held her hands up as she backed away from you, leaving you with her key. You offered her a smile you were sure would do nothing to put her at ease before you moved towards the room. 

You unlocked the door and pushed it open, feeling relief flood you at the sight of Klaus. There was blood all along his chest and you could see tears in his eyes, but he was _alive_. You rushed forward to help free him from the chair he was bound to and carefully removed the tape from his mouth. 

"Y/N," he breathed. "They're in there," he nodded over towards the bathroom. 

"I've got it," you told him. "You should get the hell out of here. Go to the Academy. I'll meet you there." 

"Y/N, no," he tried to argue with a shake of his head. "They’re psychopaths. I'm not leaving you alone with them." 

You offered Klaus a smile as you reached out to cup his cheek in your hand. "I'll be fine," you promised before you leaned forward to kiss him. “I’ve had their training, remember?” 

You heard footsteps coming out of the bathroom and immediately turned to put yourself between Klaus and Hazel. 

"Get out of here, Klaus," you told him. "I've got this," you assured him as you pulled up a force field to separate you from Hazel. When Klaus hesitated at your side, you glanced over at him to see he was watching Hazel uncertainly through the force field. “Klaus, I’m not going to let them hurt you again, okay? If you leave, then I can do what I came here to do,” you told him as you pulled your gun up, leveling it at Hazel. 

"Yeah. Okay." Klaus took a deep breath before he dove for the vent in the room. He was quick to take the cover off before he climbed inside, cursing when his knee hit the side of the vent. 

"You could have used the open door, but sure," you said, frowning at where Klaus was quickly disappearing from your sight. You glanced up at Hazel and noticed the empty space behind him. "Where's your partner?" 

"Right here," you heard behind you. 

You heard Cha-Cha's gun fire just as you pulled up another force field to block you from the shot. 

"Shit," Cha-Cha hissed when the bullet ricocheted. "How are you doing that?" 

"I'm sure you've done your homework by now," you told her as you turned so that you had a view of Hazel and Cha-Cha. "You know." 

Cha-Cha sneered at you. "You can't take a shot at us while you're protecting yourself. Why don't you drop those?" 

You were going to explain that you could just as easily send her to sleep with the force field up when you were interrupted. 

"Drop your weapon!" You heard from behind Cha-Cha. 

"For fuck's sake," you groaned. You had forgotten momentarily about Patch while you were faced with freeing Klaus and taking care of Hazel and Cha-Cha. 

You saw Cha-Cha turn her weapon on Patch and quickly pulled up a force field between them. Unfortunately, that caused the field protecting you from Cha-Cha to disappear. Before you could even react, Cha-Cha turned on you. You moved just as you heard her gun fire. 

You hissed as you felt something rip into your shoulder. You had hoped to avoid getting shot, but you knew from the stinging, searing pain in your left shoulder that you weren’t successful. You couldn’t focus on the pain, though. You knew that if you froze for even a moment, then you could die. 

"I told you not to get involved," you berated Patch as you used the force field to push her out of the room. You watched her stumble back onto the walkway and then turned your attention to Cha-Cha. "Sleep," you commanded her. You watched Cha-Cha drop to the floor, unconscious, before you turned towards Hazel. You shouldn't have been surprised to see Hazel was gone, though. Once your back was turned on him, he likely took his chance to flee. 

You brought a shaking hand up to clutch at your shoulder and could feel blood pouring from between your fingers. Black spots dotted your vision when you pressed against the wound and you felt yourself sway on your feet. You knew exhaustion was quickly catching up with you. You allowed yourself to cautiously drop the force fields, since Cha-Cha was knocked out and Hazel was likely in the middle of his escape through the motel room bathroom window. 

"Fuck," you hissed. You moved towards the bathroom, your gun up in case Hazel tried to surprise you. You were sure that he was gone, though. When you glanced into the bathroom, you weren’t surprised to see that it was empty and the window was still open. "Fuck," you repeated. 

"Y/N!" You heard Patch call. 

You rushed out into the room to see the tell-tale blue and red flashing lights that signaled the arrival of more cops. 

"You called for back-up? I told you I had it handled." 

Patch quirked an eyebrow at you. "I know you’re Diego’s sister, but that doesn't mean I know you. Now get out of here so I can save you from being questioned by the police." 

You glanced down at where Cha-Cha was still asleep on the floor. You really didn’t want to leave her and you wanted nothing more than to kill her. You remembered how frazzled and terrified Klaus looked when you found him. You had to stop yourself from bringing your gun up to end Cha-Cha once and for all. You were sure Patch would overlook you threatening the motel clerk, but she wouldn’t just stand idly by as you murdered someone in front of her. 

"I can arrest her as soon as you go,” Patch assured you. “She won’t be left alone. She’ll be taken down to the station and processed.” 

You wanted to tell Patch that was a stupid idea. But how could you possibly explain that Cha-Cha was a time-traveling assassin without sounding like you had completely lost it? You sighed and finally took a few steps outside of the motel room, glancing back at where Cha-Cha was still passed out on the floor. 

Patch directed you to go down to your car and wait for her. You didn't want to wait for her. You wanted to go home and see Klaus. You didn’t care if you were trailing blood behind you as you did your best to avoid the cops that were starting to swarm the motel. You were just doing your best to make it to the stairs so you could finally get down to the parking lot. You knew Hazel was likely still somewhere around the motel, since he wouldn’t want to leave his partner. It was against protocol and if you could find him and quietly take care of him, then that would just leave you with Cha-Cha. 

You were intent on getting to the parking lot and searching out the car Hazel and Cha-Cha must have been using, but the decision was quickly taken out of your hands when you noticed Diego rushing up the stairs towards you. 

"Y/N! What the hell? You're bleeding." He slowly reached out a hand to steady you, his eyes wide in concern when he finally got a good look at your shoulder. 

"I don't care about that," you snapped at him, knowing that you sounded remarkably like Five in that moment. "I need to find Hazel before he gets away." 

"You need medical attention," you heard Patch say from behind you. 

"Why aren't you watching Cha-Cha?" You asked, turning on her. 

"Cha-Cha?" 

"The woman! The woman who shot me because I was too busy protecting _you_. You shouldn't have left her alone." 

"I didn't," Patch said. "I left her in the care of two officers. They should be putting her in a patrol car now." 

"She was awake?" You couldn't help but ask. You felt like the situation was quickly spiraling out of your control. "Did she wake up?" You asked when you didn't get an answer. 

Patch shared a confused look with Diego before she glanced at you. 

"Yes?" Patch asked. "Why is that such a bad thing? It makes it easier to arrest her." 

You brushed past Patch, ignoring Diego calling your name, to rush back towards the room. You shouldn't have been surprised to see the two unconscious deputies lying just inside the motel room. You should have known better than to leave Cha-Cha. You should have killed her when you had the chance. 

You heard a squeal of tires and glanced out into the parking lot to see a car quickly speeding out of the lot. 

Patch and Diego had caught up with you and Patch was quickly calling for more officers and another ambulance for the unconscious deputies. 

"Come on," Diego said as he directed you away from the room. "Patch called an ambulance for you. You should get that looked at." 

"I don't have time," you tried to argue with Diego. "I need to hunt them down and I need to get back to the Academy. Klaus should be there." You felt like you were going to pass out, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care. You whirled around to look at Patch. “You should have stayed with her,” you snapped at Patch. “You should have stayed in the damn office,” you told her. “I would have taken care of everything if you didn’t get in the way.” 

You noticed Patch’s startled look. “I was just doing my job,” she told you. 

“Hey, calm down,” Diego told you. You didn’t realize until that moment that your breaths were coming quicker and your hands were shaking. “This isn’t Patch’s fault.” 

You shot a glare at Diego. “She’s the reason I got shot,” you couldn't help but point out. You groaned and turned away from them, moving to go back to the stairs. 

“Where are you going now?” Diego called. 

“I need to get to Klaus or find Hazel and Cha-Cha,” you threw over your shoulder. You couldn’t really concentrate on one idea. You just knew you needed to do _something_. 

You heard Diego running to catch up with you before his hand reached out to gently grab your right elbow. "Klaus will be fine with you getting that taken care of," Diego argued as he gestured to your injured shoulder. "And once you're no longer bleeding, I'll help you hunt those two down, okay? We'll do this. Together." 

You shared a look with Diego, wondering if you had any chance of slipping past him to get back to the car to try and tail Hazel and Cha-Cha or make a break for the Academy. From the look in his eyes, though, you knew it was useless trying to fight him. As much as you were tempted to simply put him to sleep and make your escape, you knew there would be hell to pay for it later. 

"Fine," you conceded with a nod. "But once I get this taken care of, I'm going back to the Academy. I have to see Klaus. It’s already been too long." 

Diego offered you a smile as he started to steer you towards the ambulance that was waiting in the parking lot. "Let the nice paramedics do their jobs and I'll drive you myself. Deal?" 

"Deal," you reluctantly agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My confidence in my writing took a real dip this week, so I'm sorry this is a bit later than I expected. I had a hard time writing this. I'm going to do my best to finish this by July 31st (season two release date!) because I will be wanting to finally work on the sequel to Somebody to Love. So, hopefully I can actually accomplish that. 😂
> 
> If you're enjoying this at all, then letting me know will make my day. ♥ And I hope you're all doing well during this really scary time. Take care of yourselves. ♥ 
> 
> Also, before I forget, chapter 6 will be from Klaus' POV (third person). I want to go over what happens between him and Dave and everything, so I just wanted to give everyone reading this a heads up.


	5. It's a Red Flag Before the Mayday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentioned infidelity in this...and angst. Lots and lots of angst. Don't hate me.

By the time you were finally released to go home, it was already well into the next morning. You knew that Klaus must have been worried about you, but you hoped he stayed at the Academy and didn’t try to look for you. All you wanted to do was go home, crawl into bed with him, and just rest for a few hours. 

"So, hey," Diego started as he drove you home. "I don't know everything that happened, but it sounds like Eudora is safe because of you." 

"Oh, it's Eudora now?" You asked him, helpless to resist the urge to tease him. 

You saw Diego's cheeks flush and only felt your smirk grow at the sight of it. 

"Shut up," he muttered. "How's your shoulder?" He asked, glancing at you for a moment before looking back to the road. 

"Hurts," you answered. It ached, but thankfully the damage wasn't as terrible as it could have been. They gave you a sling to use, but you already had plans to get rid of the first chance you were afforded. 

"You both should have waited for me," Diego admonished. "I thought I told you not to go after those two without me." 

"I wasn't going to put you in more danger," you told him. "I already had Klaus' life on the line. You really think I was going to endanger someone else I care about?" 

Diego frowned, but didn't respond. 

"What happened to Five and Luther?" You asked, wondering how Luther and Diego had handled a drunk Number Five. You had plenty of experience wrangling Five when he was drunk and surly, and you were a little sad you had missed seeing Luther and Diego struggle with him. 

"I left them at my place when I got Patch's message. She didn't mention anything about you being there, though." 

"I took her by surprise," you told him. "She thought I was going to give you a message. She didn’t expect for me to show up." 

Diego snorted. "You're really something else. Was learning how to lie part of your assassin training?" 

"Low blow," you muttered. 

By the time you arrived at the Academy, you felt about ready to drop. You were running on very little sleep and all you could think was that you had accomplished nothing. Hazel and Cha-Cha still got away and the apocalypse was still happening. The only saving grace was that Klaus was safe. You never would have forgiven yourself if you hadn't managed to rescue him. 

You thanked Diego and made your way to Klaus' room. You weren't in the best mood by the time you were knocking on his door and peeking inside. Your shoulder was becoming a constant pain you were finding it harder to ignore and your eyes were burning from exhaustion. You had been given painkillers, so you were sure as soon as you took them, you’d be able to finally fall asleep. All you really wanted to do was pull Klaus into your arms and collapse on his bed to sleep for the next twelve hours. 

You should have known it wouldn’t happen, because things rarely ever worked out for you. 

When you pushed open the door to Klaus' room, you saw him gingerly pulling on a shirt. 

"Hey," you called. 

"Y/N," he said, his voice soft and yearning. He turned and took a few steps towards you, but hesitated just out of your reach. He bit his lip, looking you over, as if he wasn't sure of his welcome. You noticed his eyes land on the sling keeping your arm immobile and a flash of guilt cross his face. 

You frowned at Klaus, wondering if there was something wrong. He rarely shied away from showing you affection, so why did he look like he wasn't allowed to come near you? You considered him for a moment, taking him in. He seemed different. You weren't sure if it was because his time with Hazel and Cha-Cha had more of an impact on him than you originally thought or something else was going on, but you wanted to know. It was then you caught sight of the tattoo on Klaus' bicep. 

"Is that new? Did you get that last night?" You asked as you lightly touched it. “It doesn’t look new,” you mused, wondering how and when Klaus had the time to get a new tattoo. 

Klaus shook his head. "Not last night, no." He reached out to brush his fingers over your sling. "What happened?" 

"Cha-Cha shot me," you told him. You sighed and moved to sit on the edge of his bed, feeling like you were about to collapse. This definitely wasn't the reunion you had been hoping for, but you figured as long as you were in the same room as Klaus, then it was okay. "I didn't even get to kill her or Hazel." 

"It wouldn't have made you feel better," he said, not bothering to turn to look at you. He was still facing his bedroom door, as if he was thinking about leaving. "It won't bring you peace." 

You squinted up at him. "Klaus," you started, scooting forward until you could reach out to brush your fingers against his back. You pulled back when he flinched. It was then you knew something was wrong. "What happened to you? What happened after you left the motel room?" 

Klaus' shoulders tensed before they dropped, as if he was resigning himself to something. He finally turned and moved to sit beside you on the bed. He reached out to grab your hand, keeping it firmly in his grasp. "Promise you'll listen? To all of it?" 

You nodded your head. "I promise," you said. You felt like there was a knot coiling tighter in your stomach with each moment that passed. You didn't know what Klaus was about to tell you, but he must have assumed you would be upset. You really hoped he was wrong. 

As you listened to him tell you about his accidental trip back to 1968 and falling right into the middle of the Vietnam War, you felt like you had failed Klaus in some way. You had meant to protect him, but he spent ten months having to throw himself into the middle of a war he was never meant to fight. You could see that whatever he experienced while he was gone was haunting him. The pain and fear in his expression spoke of a fresh wound that you weren't sure would ever fully close. 

"Klaus, I'm so sorry. I wish it hadn't happened. I should have been there for you." You squeezed his hand, hearing him let out a shaky breath, before you glanced around his room. "What happened to the briefcase?" 

"I destroyed it," he mumbled. 

That surprised you. "What? Why?" You asked, turning to look at him. It was then you noticed the tears in Klaus' eyes and you reached out to brush them away. "Hey," you soothed. "It's okay. You're home now. You're safe. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you again." 

Klaus choked out a laugh, shaking his head. "Just let me," he muttered before he pulled you into a kiss. The kiss quickly went from sweet to desperate. Klaus pulled you even closer to him before he shuddered against you. He slowly pulled away before he turned his head, as if he couldn't look at you. He moved to grab your hand again, his hold almost painfully tight. "I met someone," he whispered. 

"Oh," you mouthed, not sure how to respond to that. You knew what he meant. You _knew_ , but you still couldn't stop yourself from asking, "A friend?" 

Klaus hesitated before answering. "No." 

"Oh," you repeated. You felt like your mind was full of blank, buzzing thoughts. You didn't know what to really think, but at the same time, you seemed to be thinking way too much. "What was their name?" You finally forced yourself to ask. You were stalling. It didn't matter, now. There was only one thing you had to know before you allowed your heart to break. 

"His name was Dave," Klaus told you, his voice breaking when he said Dave’s name. 

He didn't offer anything else and you suddenly felt frustrated with the conversation. "And did you love Dave? Are you in love with him?" 

Klaus bit his lip before he nodded his head. 

You took in a deep, shaky breath before you let go of Klaus' hand. His fingers curled, as if he was seeking out your hand, but he didn't move to touch you again. You stood from the bed, ignoring the way it pulled on your shoulder. You weren't really sure what to think or do, now. How did you process this? You had spent years and years waiting for Klaus. You had been forced to do horrible, terrifying things just to get back to him. It felt like it had somehow all been for nothing. The apocalypse was still going to take the world in just a few days. Hazel and Cha-Cha weren't going to stop trying to kill you. And now, the one person you always thought would never hurt you, had gone and fallen in love with someone else. 

You weren't sure how it happened, but your emotions quickly spiraled from dismayed to outrage. 

"So, let's get this straight," you started, hating how flat your voice was in that moment. "I busted my ass, freaking the fuck out all night when you were taken, to find you. I didn't stop looking for you. I looked _everywhere_. I got shot. I fought so hard to find you and save you. I've been fighting for decades, Klaus. And you went and fell in love with someone else?" You felt hurt. You couldn't even explain what this felt like to you. You had never felt like something had broken off inside of you and vaporized, searing you with the pain of its loss. Klaus had always been your source of hope when everything was falling apart, but now you felt like he was slipping away from you. You couldn't help but think that you would rather let Cha-Cha shoot you a dozen times than go through this now. 

Klaus' attention quickly snapped to you, a flash of an expression in his eyes you didn't quite recognize. "I was gone for ten months! It was one night for you, but it was ten months for me. You don't know what it was like being there. In the middle of an active warzone. You weren’t there and I needed someone. I needed _Dave_." 

You bit your lip and turned away, clenching your hands into fists, not caring when it made your shoulder ache. Hearing Klaus say another person's name with such reverence and love cut you deep. It felt like you couldn't breathe for a moment and you had to focus on keeping yourself calm. You didn't know what to think. You knew Klaus had been through something terrible, but all you could feel was betrayal. "Okay," you breathed before you walked out of the room. 

"No, Y/N, wait!" Klaus called, desperation returning to his tone. 

You held up a hand, wincing when you felt Klaus rebound off the force field you put up between you. 

"Don't follow me," you said, not even bothering to look at him. "I just need a moment," you added before you realized you weren't alone in the hallway. 

"Relationship problems?" You heard Five ask from where he had been leaning up against the wall outside of Klaus' room. 

"Shut up, Five," you snapped, striding down the hallway away from Klaus and Five and his judgement. You knew he was just waiting to say he told you so. He told you Klaus didn't do commitment and you had foolishly defended him. You hated that you were at war with yourself, because you still wanted to defend Klaus, but you were just so blindingly heartbroken in that moment. 

Five used his power to jump right in front of you, causing you to stumble to avoid walking into him. You could hear Klaus calling your name and you just wanted nothing more than to leave the mansion, possibly the city, in order to get away from him and the hurt that was threatening to overwhelm you. 

"Fuck, Five, just leave it," you hissed, propping yourself against the wall. Your shoulder was burning and you were sure you had probably bled through your bandages by this point. 

"Y/N," Five said, staring at you for long enough that you knew what he was trying to work himself up to do. 

"Just go talk to Klaus about time travel," you said on a sigh, knowing that was why he had been waiting outside of Klaus' room. "You don't have to comfort me," you offered, giving him an out. 

Five rolled his eyes, but surprised you by pushing forward and pulling you into a brief hug. He was careful not to pull on your shoulder. "You're my partner," Five told you when he stepped back. "My sister," Five added. "You know me better than anyone. Just say the word and I'll drop him somewhere far away." He reached up to touch the fading cut on his lip from where Klaus had hit him. "I've been looking for a little payback." 

You raised a brow at that, surprised by his words. Five was rarely affectionate these days, even with you, but he had always been a bit overprotective. You decided to ignore his threat to Klaus for now, knowing that you couldn't take him up on it. Even though Klaus had just broken your heart, you still loved him. Klaus had been through something horrible and while you wanted nothing more than to comfort him, you couldn't compartmentalize your hurt yet. 

"I know you better than anyone? Even Delores?" You found yourself asking, wanting a momentary distraction. 

Five squinted, as if having to think it over, before he nodded. "Yeah," he said, voice soft. "Even Delores." 

You bit your lip, trying not to smile at Five. "Thanks," you said, reaching forward to pat him on the shoulder. You winced at the sound of Klaus yelling for you. "Just do me a favor?" 

"Anything," Five agreed with a nod of his head. 

"Make sure he's okay?" 

Five looked surprised by your words. "Are you sure?" 

You nodded your head. "He's been through a lot. I don't want him to feel like he's alone, but I just can't be with him right now. I need to go take care of something." 

Five nodded his head. "Alright. I'll do my best." 

"Thanks, Five." 

"Y/N! Come on!" You heard Klaus yell. "Let me out of here. Let me talk to you." 

You glanced over your shoulder to see Klaus leaning up against the force field, his hands pressed to it, as if he would be able to push it down if he tried hard enough. 

"I'll take it down once I'm out of here," you told Five, turning to look at him. "But you can just jump past it," you pointed out. 

"Yep," Five said, nodding his head. "See you later, Y/N." 

You took a deep breath, resisting the urge to turn around and go back to Klaus. You kept moving forward, knowing that you had a score to settle. 

You were heartbroken and pissed off, but not all of your anger was directed at Klaus. You couldn't help but think that if Hazel and Cha-Cha had never taken him, then he would have never been lost to you. He never would have fallen in love with someone else. 

You knew you needed to plan and you wanted comfort, so you found yourself making the trek to Griddy's. You figured if you could just take an hour for yourself to sit at the counter and try to work through everything, then you would have an idea about what you wanted to do. Besides, you knew just one of Agnes’ doughnuts was usually enough to lift your spirits. 

You felt like you could hardly think from how much everything hurt, though. You couldn't help but think about Klaus finding someone else and falling in love. You thought about Klaus kissing and touching Dave like he kissed and touched you. You thought about Klaus sharing a part of himself with Dave that was only supposed to be for you. 

You knew that Klaus had been through hell. You felt guilty for leaving him. You wanted to be there for him and you hated yourself a little for not staying with him. You just didn't know how to push past the betrayal you felt. You didn’t know how to go back to him without feeling like your heart was going to rip in two at the sight of him. 

You were at the door to Griddy's when you heard Agnes laughing from the side of the building. You were about to ignore the sound and open the door, but then you heard a familiar voice. You frowned and took a few steps away from the door, creeping towards the low murmur of voices. 

When you took a chance to peek around the corner of the building, you were surprised to see Hazel talking to Agnes. You watched them for a few moments, taking note of their proximity and the warmth in Hazel's expression when he regarded Agnes. You saw the way Hazel kept swaying closer to Agnes and then taking a step back, as if he wanted to get closer, but wasn't going to allow himself to yet. 

You would never have expected for Hazel to break protocol and fall in love with a civilian, but you figured nothing was ever going to go the way you assumed it would. You liked Agnes. She was sweet and always gave you something on the house when she saw you, but that didn't mean you wouldn't use her against Hazel. As far as you were concerned, all bets were off and unfortunately for Agnes, she might be caught in the crossfire. 

When you saw Hazel look like he was about to leave, you quickly pulled away from the building and made your way to the front door. You ducked inside, taking a seat at the table by the window, as you waited for Hazel to get into his car and leave. Once the car was out of the parking lot, you were jumping up from your seat and leaving Griddy's. 

You were sure Hazel would be going back to whichever motel the Temps Commission had moved him and Cha-Cha to. You weren't really sure what you planned on doing as you jogged down the sidewalk, doing your best not to jostle your shoulder too much. 

You knew Hazel would likely be far gone before you could find a good way to track him, but you needed to try something. You briefly thought about seeing if you could make him fall asleep at this range when you heard someone whistle. 

You were going to ignore the sound until you noticed a car pulled up beside you. 

"Get in," you heard Diego say. 

You glanced over to see Diego watching you expectantly from the driver's side of his car. It only took you a few seconds to realize Klaus was in the passenger seat. 

You felt like your chest was going to cave in when you noticed him. He looked upset and your first instinct was to ask him if he was okay. But all that flashed through your mind after was Klaus seeking solace from someone who wasn't you. 

"I'll walk," you told Diego, moving to take off down the sidewalk. 

"Y/N," Diego called, keeping pace with you. Cars swerved to go around him, angry drivers honking their horns at Diego as he deliberately slowed down his car. "Get in the car," he told you. 

"I've got this, Diego," you tried to brush him off. You could feel tears welling in your eyes and you really didn't want Diego to see you crying. He would ask what was wrong and you didn't have it in you to tell him anything at the moment. There was also no way in hell you were going to approach the subject with Klaus in the car. You didn't want to fight and you didn't want to feel your heart break any more. You just wanted to track down Hazel and Cha-Cha and finally exact your revenge. "Just go back to the Academy, okay? This isn't your fight," you tried to reason with him. 

"Not my fight? They broke into the Academy and tried to kill us all. They want to kill you and Five. They almost killed Patch. They kidnapped Klaus. Of course this is my fight," he argued. 

You sighed, knowing you were coming dangerously close to caving. 

Diego must have noticed, because he decided to press his advantage. "I'm tracking their car," he offered. "If you come with me, I can lead you right to them." 

You stopped walking and turned to glare at Diego, a scowl on your face. At his self-satisfied smirk as he pulled the car to a stop beside you, you couldn't help but roll your eyes. 

"You better not be bluffing," you grumbled before you moved to open the door to the backseat. You climbed into the car, barely having enough time to shut the door behind you, before Diego was pulling away from the curb. 

"Buckle up," he told you, barely sparing you a glance in the rearview mirror. 

You settled back in your seat, noticing as you buckled your seatbelt, Klaus half-turned in his seat. He froze before he sighed and then faced forward again, as if he was going to check on you before he remembered why you were upset with him. You felt your mouth twist into a frown as you glanced out the window, your eyes burning from unshed tears and exhaustion. 

After a few minutes, you heard Diego chuckle. "What is it with you two today? Why are you two so quiet?" 

"Drop it," you muttered, not even bothering to turn to look at him. 

"Seriously," he started, displeasure in his tone when neither you or Klaus even bothered to respond. "Something you want to talk about?" 

"Diego, please shut up," you begged. You met his eyes in the rearview mirror, watching his expression morph from confusion to worry to begrudging acceptance. 

"Fine," he conceded. 

You were glad for the silence, but you couldn't deny that it just served to put you more on edge. Halfway to the motel, you finally got fed up of your sling and slipped it off, letting it fall to the floor boards. 

“You shouldn’t take that off. They said it would take weeks for you to heal,” Diego pointed out. 

“Yeah, well I don’t have weeks,” you responded. “Besides, it just gets in the way.” 

Diego looked like he wanted to argue and Klaus even turned to shoot you a worried look, but you simply settled for glancing back out the window. 

By the time Diego pulled the car into the motel parking lot, you were feeling anxious. Klaus had been steadily sipping from a bottle of vodka and glancing back at you from time to time. Diego seemed as if he had a thousand questions, but wasn't sure if he should ask any of them. You had spent most of the car ride with your nails digging grooves into the side of your leg in an effort to not say anything and staring resolutely out the window, feigning to watch the passing scenery when you were really avoiding glancing at Klaus. 

Diego parked his car behind an ice cream truck. You moved to get out of the car, placing yourself just behind the truck in an effort to avoid being spotted. 

"I'm going up there," Diego said. "They don't know we're here and we can take them by surprise." 

You bit your lip and shook your head. "They probably know we're here. And if they’re not already aware, then it won’t be long until they figure it out." 

Diego frowned as he glanced at you. "How do you know?" 

You shrugged your shoulders. "They're good agents, despite everything. Just trust me," you said as you turned your head, meeting his gaze. "They'll know." 

Diego sighed before he looked at Klaus. "Stay with the car. I'm still going up there. Come on, Y/N." 

You glanced up at the row of windows on the second floor of the motel and then back to Diego. You reached out to swipe one of his knives, ignoring his noise of protest. "You go do that. I've got something I need to check on," you told Diego, before you took off across the parking lot. 

"Y/N," he hissed. "Where the fuck are you going?" 

You didn't bother to answer him, though. You knew what was going to happen, because it happened before. You would try to corner Hazel and Cha-Cha and they would find a way to escape in their car. This time, you were going to be one step ahead of them. 

It didn't take much effort to break into the car. You were hoping they would be in such a rush to leave that they didn't properly check the backseat, so you ducked down into the floorboards behind the passenger seat. You tried to make yourself as small and inconspicuous as possible. You knew Diego was going to be incredibly pissed off when he realized where you went, but you knew it was your best shot at getting close to Hazel and Cha-Cha. 

You waited until you heard running footsteps approach the car. You automatically held your breath, as if it would help you go unnoticed. You were running on very little sleep and had experienced an incredible emotional shock. You weren't sure if you were really thinking clearly, but as Hazel moved to get into the driver's seat and Cha-Cha slid into the passenger seat, you knew there was no time left to reconsider your plan. 

"Did you take care of their car?" Hazel asked. 

"I slashed the tires while they were fighting on the stairs. We have to get to Five," Cha-Cha said. "I just need to take care of the junkie and the one with the knives." 

Hazel started the car and pulled out of the parking spot. You heard Cha-Cha roll down her window and knew she was likely moments away from aiming her gun at Klaus and Diego. 

You were quick to move, pushing your gun up until the muzzle was pressed against the base of Hazel's skull. He jerked the wheel in surprise, but managed to not crash. You took the knife you stole from Diego and pressed it against Cha-Cha's throat with your other hand. You watched her freeze where she was aiming her gun out the window of the car. 

"Hazel and Cha-Cha. How's business?" You asked, ignoring how the awkward angle of your arm was pulling at your shoulder. 

"How the fuck did you end up there?" Cha-Cha asked. She was still and tense, not even bothering to try to look at you, since she likely knew you would kill her if she made a move you didn't like. 

Hazel was still driving and you noticed Cha-Cha attempt to raise her gun to aim at Diego and Klaus where they were standing on the second-floor walkway. 

"Oh no, you don't," you hissed. "You take one shot at them and I put a bullet in Hazel's brain before you can blink. Or I'll make him fall asleep at the wheel and crash." 

"That would kill you too," Hazel pointed out. 

You shrugged your shoulders, having forgotten for a moment why it was a terrible idea. You fought down your flinch at the pain and settled for shooting Cha-Cha a grin when she finally lowered her gun and looked at you. "Mutually assured destruction," you offered. 

"You're crazy," Cha-Cha scoffed. 

"No," you denied. "I'm just very, very angry." 

You noticed Diego and Klaus watching the car. Diego’s eyes widened in alarm when he realized you were in the backseat of Hazel and Cha-Cha's car. You saw him yell something before he started to immediately move towards the stairwell. You knew he wouldn't be able to reach the car before it was gone, though. You smirked and saluted him with the hand holding your gun, before quickly returning it to point at Hazel. 

Diego looked furious as he pulled to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, but when you chanced a glance at Klaus, you noticed he only looked worried and mildly annoyed. You knew neither one of them was going to be happy that you were going off by yourself again, but you were right where you wanted to be. 

"So," you started, glancing from Hazel to Cha-Cha as the car pulled out of the parking lot. "Why are you two in such a rush to get to Five? New orders or something else?" 

Cha-Cha clenched her jaw, as if she was going to refuse to answer you. You glanced to Hazel, noticing that he looked like he was going to try to shut you out too. 

You sighed and shook your head. "Look, you two have done nothing but wreck my life since you got here. I have every intention of killing you, but if you just answer me, then maybe that doesn't have to happen right now. It doesn’t even have to happen today, if you just cooperate with me." 

Neither one of them seemed like they were moved by your words enough to answer you. 

You glanced at Hazel, feeling a smirk form on your face. "You know, I was at Griddy's earlier," you started, watching the way Hazel tensed, his hands clutching the steering wheel tighter. "I saw Agnes talking to someone who looked really familiar," you added. 

Hazel huffed a frustrated breath before he shook his head. 

"She's always been so kind to me. I'd really hate it if something were to happen to her," you continued, feeling satisfied when you noticed Hazel twitch, as if he wanted to turn to look at you. 

"We're going to see Five because he asked to meet," he finally answered. 

Cha-Cha shot Hazel a questioning glance, but she didn't say anything. 

"Oh, really? And why would Five want to see the two of you? Last I checked, he wasn't too thrilled with you either." 

Cha-Cha rolled her eyes before she glanced back out the passenger side window. "He has something of ours." 

"What?" 

"Our briefcase," Cha-Cha bit out. "Now will you stop with the damn questions?" 

"Huh," you mused. You knew that Klaus destroyed the briefcase. If Five talked to Klaus, then he knew that. You knew Five was obviously bluffing, but it must have been for a reason. Five wanted something from Hazel and Cha-Cha. You weren't sure what it was, but you planned on finding out. "Alright, then. I'm in. Let's go meet Five." 

Cha-Cha snorted. "Do we have a choice?" 

"No, I guess you really don't." 

An awkward silence settled over the car as Hazel drove you towards the meeting place Five must have picked. You were sure Diego was tracking the car, so he probably wouldn't be far behind. You only worried that Cha-Cha had mentioned slashing the tires of his car, so he would have to scramble to find another vehicle. 

"Why are you so angry?" Hazel asked, breaking the silence. 

You narrowed your eyes at him, wondering why he would bother to ask. "You're kidding me, right?" 

"Just making conversation," Hazel offered with a shrug of his shoulders. "Are we just supposed to be quiet for the whole drive?" 

"It's preferable to small-talk," Cha-Cha commented, shaking her head. 

"I'm angry because you tried to kill my family. I'm angry because you kidnapped my boyfriend. I'm angry because Five and I are trying to save the world and the Temps Commission wants to destroy it." You sighed and moved to sit back in your seat, making sure to still keep your gun pointed at Hazel. "I'm angry because no matter what I do, everything gets fucked up. Is that enough?" 

Hazel nodded his head. "That's plenty," he replied. 

"Can we all just shut up until we get to where we're meeting Five?" Cha-Cha asked. She moved to cross her arms over her chest as she sat back in her seat. "We don't need to keep up any damn commentary." 

"Fine by me," you muttered. 

Sitting in silence with Hazel and Cha-Cha turned out to be preferable to you than when you refused to say anything while you were with Diego and Klaus. You thought it was because there was no confusion with Hazel and Cha-Cha. They were your enemies, and you still planned on killing them, but they served a purpose for you now. They were going to take you to Five and you were going to figure out what the hell he was up to now. With Klaus, you were constantly warring between pulling him into your arms and trying to shield him from the grief and trauma he was still suffering from and pushing him away for hurting you. 

At least with Hazel and Cha-Cha, you knew where the lines were clearly drawn. 

When you saw Five standing with Luther, both of them leaning against the family car, you couldn't help but hope Five knew what he was doing. 

"Okay, I'm going to get out of the car first," you told them. "Don't make me put you to sleep," you warned, before you moved to open the door. You slid out of the backseat, keeping your gun trained on Hazel and Cha-Cha, before you pulled yourself out of the car. 

"Y/N?" You heard Luther call. "What the hell are you doing here?" 

You backed away from the car, keeping your weapon on Hazel and Cha-Cha, as you moved toward Luther and Five. You watched Hazel and Cha-Cha get out of the car, but when neither of them went for their weapons, you slowly lowered yours. You knew that even if they tried to shoot you now, you could just as easily raise a force field to protect yourself. 

You moved to join Five and Luther, finally turning your attention away from Hazel and Cha-Cha, since you trusted Five to have your back. "What's going on?" 

"I need to make a deal with them," Five told you. "How did you end up with them?" 

You shook your head. "It's a long story," you tried to deflect. "What deal are you making?" You couldn't help but wonder. 

"I can't tell you right now," Five said. He grabbed the briefcase from Luther, ignoring his frown, and handed it to you. "This is our bargaining chip. Hold on to it for me." You considered the briefcase in your hand, noting that it looked similar enough to a Temps Commission one to likely fool Hazel and Cha-Cha from a distance. 

Five took a step away to go meet Hazel and Cha-Cha, but you were quick to reach out and stop him. "Five, what's going on? We shouldn't be making deals with them, we should be killing them." 

"They're of use to me now," Five said, shrugging off your hold. "Once they're not, then feel free to get rid of them." 

Luther was looking from you to Five as if he didn't recognize either one of you. You know it was jarring for him to hear you casually talking about killing people, but you didn’t have time to try to explain yourself. You sighed and let Five go, wishing you were in on his plan. In your experience, any time Five was being deliberately vague with his plans, was when you ended up suffering for it. 

You kept back with Luther, keeping an eye on Five as he negotiated with Hazel and Cha-Cha. You knew that if either of them made a move towards Five that you didn’t like, then you weren’t going to hesitate to shoot them this time. You felt like you were making a lot of concessions lately in order to keep people from getting hurt or because you were following someone else’s plan. If you had it your way, Hazel and Cha-Cha would be dead and you would have been trying to figure out who was going to cause the apocalypse. If you had it your way, Klaus would have never gone back to the 60s and fallen in love with someone else. 

You were broken out of your thoughts by Luther clearing his throat. “Is there something wrong with your shoulder?” He nodded towards where the edge of the bandage wrapped around your shoulder was visible. 

“I got shot,” you told him. 

“What? When? Are you okay?” 

“She did it,” you told Luther, nodding towards Cha-Cha. “And I’m fine,” you added. You knew Luther cared in his own roundabout way, but you weren’t up for talking at the moment. 

He must have realized you weren’t in the mood for conversation, because he went silent at your side. 

Five finished up his conversation with Hazel and Cha-Cha and moved to rejoin you and Luther by the car. You noticed Cha-Cha move towards the payphone situated at the side of the road and suddenly understood Five’s goal. 

"Five," you started as he leaned up against the car beside you. "Please tell me she's not calling The Handler." 

Five frowned and glanced away from you. "I can't tell you that," he finally muttered. 

"Are you fucking kidding me?" You hissed, tugging on his arm until he looked at you. "This is your big idea? Getting _her_ involved? We ran away from the Temps Commission for a reason, Five. They sent henchmen and Hazel and Cha-Cha to kill us. They sent others before them to kill me," you pointed out. "They want the apocalypse to happen," you reminded him. 

"I'm going to make a deal," Five told you. "It's all going to be fine. Do you still trust me?" 

You met Five's eyes, having another silent conversation, before you groaned. "I hope you know what you're doing." 

"I do," Five insisted. "I've got it handled." 

You opened your mouth to tell him that just the day before he was passed out drunk in the library, so how the hell did he have it all figured out now, when you heard the music. You frowned and glanced to Hazel and Cha-Cha, thinking that the sound was coming from them, but then you realized it was too far away to be from them. And it was coming from the other direction. 

You quickly turned to see the ice cream truck slowly approaching. For a moment, you had forgotten about Diego and Klaus. Now that you knew The Handler was on her way, you wanted them as far away as you could get them. 

"Oh, fuck," you groaned. You watched as the truck got closer and then moved to pass you. 

Klaus took a moment to wave at you, Luther, and Five, a delighted grin on his face as he drove by. He winked at you, and you knew that it was likely his way of paying you back for saluting him and Diego as you passed them earlier. 

"Take this," you told Luther, quickly handing him the briefcase. You knew things were about to get out of hand and you wanted to make sure you were able to act when you needed to. 

"It's a trick!" You heard Cha-Cha call. You noticed her and Hazel immediately move to aim their weapons at the truck and Luther and Five. You were quick to pull up a force field and you had your arm outstretched to try to somehow protect Diego and Klaus with another one when it seemed that there was a skip in time. One moment your hand was open, attempting to pull up a force field to keep Klaus and Diego safe from getting wounded, and the next it was curled up into a fist. 

You heard the ice cream truck crash into Hazel and Cha-Cha's car. When you glanced around, you noticed Hazel and Cha-Cha on the ground and Luther looking around in bewilderment. You realized what was wrong, then. Five wasn't there. 

You slowly uncurled your fist and found a piece of paper clutched within. You took a moment to read it, recognizing Five's handwriting. 

_I'll be back. Keep trusting me._

"For fuck's sake," you growled when you realized Five had left with The Handler. You couldn’t help but think Five had a funny way of treating you like his partner when all he had done was leave you and fail to disclose his plans. 

"Y/N!" Luther called, getting your attention. He threw the car keys to you. "Get the car started," he commanded as he moved to help Klaus pull Diego from the ice cream truck. 

You sighed before you moved to the car, noticing Hazel and Cha-Cha scrambling to find something on the side of the road. You pushed yourself into the driver's seat, starting up the car, just as the others reached you. Diego and Klaus moved to get into the backseat as Luther managed to squeeze himself into the passenger seat. 

You barely waited for the doors to be shut before you took off, your foot pressing down on the gas pedal a little more with each second that passed. 

"Uh, Y/N," Luther started, shooting you a concerned look. "You want to slow down?" 

"No," you managed to get out, despite the fact that your jaw was clenched so tight you were sure you were moments away from damaging your teeth. You shoulder ached and you could hardly think past the relentless pain. You wanted to throttle Five and you felt like you were moments away from screaming. You wanted to go back and finish off Hazel and Cha-Cha. You wanted to sleep until the apocalypse hit. It didn’t seem like you were going to get your way, though. 

"Seriously, Y/N," Diego said, leaning forward in his seat until he could put a hand on your uninjured shoulder. "You okay?" 

"No," you bit out. You were just so tired of feeling like you were being left behind or betrayed. The two people you trusted more than anyone had both managed to break your heart within the same day. 

Klaus had fallen in love with someone else. Five had left you to go with The Handler. 

You had done nothing but trust Five and place your faith in him, even when you ended up getting hurt. 

You didn't know what Five had planned now, but one thing was painfully clear to you in that moment: He obviously didn't trust you to help save the world. 

So, you reasoned with yourself as you sped down the road, you were just going to have to do it all by yourself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who takes the time to leave kudos, comments, or bookmarks this fic. You keep this going. ♥ 
> 
> Reminder that next chapter will be from Klaus' POV. I also only did one edit on this (I usually do two), but it's 5:40 am and I'm going to pass out now, so I'll come back and look for mistakes when I wake up. 
> 
> I hope you're all doing well. ♥ If you want to follow me on Tumblr and need to talk or anything, you can find me [here](https://imagine-you-are.tumblr.com/).


	6. Swept Off My Feet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't think this turned out exactly how I envisioned, but gosh, I hope I did this right. They give us like, two minutes of Klaus and Dave on the show? And then they give us hints of Klaus' past, but I tried my best to bring it all together. Hopefully, y'all like this.

Contrary to popular opinion, Klaus Hargreeves was not a fuck up. He knew he wasn't. He had a rough childhood, a shitty father, and unsavory memories that dotted his past. He coped the only way he knew how by shutting off his power to the best of his ability, but he was still capable of accomplishing some things. It wasn't his fault that his idea of accomplishing something didn't exactly line up with everyone else's opinions on the matter. 

He knew what everyone else thought about him, though. He knew that once he refused to use his powers to be a good little superhero, he was practically cutting ties with the others. But as he grew older, he realized he didn't want that life. He didn't want to be forced and pushed to save the day when it had gotten him absolutely nowhere. All he really had to show for it was constant nightmares and resentment for his father. 

Reginald Hargreeves had never bothered to hide his disappointment in him. Every time his father pushed him into the tomb and locked him in with all of the ghosts fighting for his attention, he found it harder to have even a shred of love for the man. The only other parental figures he had were Pogo and Mom, and even then, they weren't anything like traditional parents. Pogo was usually cool and detached, even if he did offer sound advice from time to time. Grace was the closest to being a functional parent, since she was usually warm and welcoming and everything you could hope for from a robot mom. 

His relationships with the others were all different, but he always got the same feeling from each of them. They didn't really believe in him. They thought he was the weak link on the team. 

Luther was always quick to dismiss him and Diego thought he shouldn't rely so heavily on drugs to escape. Allison didn't understand him and Five never bothered to try. He sometimes got along with Ben, but Ben usually had his nose in a book and didn't seem like he cared about what was really going on with everyone else. Vanya was always pushed to the side because she didn't have a power, so Klaus didn't get to interact with her that much. Even when she was allowed to be around the rest of the team, she was usually sticking to Five’s side or quietly talking to Y/N. 

The only saving grace Klaus really had in the house was Y/N. When the others didn't seem to think he was capable of much of anything, she was the one to stick up for him. She believed in him when no one else seemed willing to even try. 

He grew up thinking of her as his best friend. When Reginald Hargreeves was shoving him into tombs and forcing him to use his power, Y/N was there to pick him up. She understood him in a way that no one else even came close to. 

He didn't consider her lumped in with the rest of the Hargreeves children. She was different like he was different. She seemed to resent her power as much as he did and she never pushed him to use it on missions. She was there for him when no one else really cared to try. 

She was his bright light in life and he feared the day it would get extinguished. 

Like any place full of teenagers, gossip spread quickly around the mansion. It didn't take long before everyone had some inkling of an idea about Luther and Allison. When Vanya mentioned she walked in on them kissing, Klaus was eager to try it. 

"Come on, Y/N," he wheedled. "You're my best friend. If I'm going to share my first kiss with anyone, it's going to be you." 

Y/N quirked an eyebrow at him, clearly not impressed with his line of logic. "You just want to do it because Allison and Luther did it." 

"Well yeah," he conceded. "But think about it!" He said, reaching out to grab her arm. "We'll finally understand all the mystery surrounding the dreaded first kiss. We'll get it out of the way and I won't ask you to kiss me again if you don't want to." 

He watched Y/N blush and for a moment, he wondered if she wanted to kiss him more than the once. He was going to mention that of course, multiple make out sessions were on the table, when she leaned forward and brushed her lips against his. 

He barely had a chance to reciprocate, moving to pull her in closer, before she was pulling away. 

"Was that enough to satisfy your curiosity?" She asked, a grin on her face. 

He wanted to tell her no. He wanted to tell her he wanted more. He just discovered how amazing it was to kiss his best friend, of course he didn't want to stop doing it. But he also didn't want to ruin a good thing while he had it. He figured he had time to bring up the possibility of kissing her again and as many times as they wanted. 

He knew Y/N was different from the others. He didn't feel the same about her as he did the other members of the Umbrella Academy. He knew there was something a little more between them than the bond they forged from growing up together. He didn't have a name for it yet, but he figured he had plenty of time to explore it. 

As Klaus would figure out as he got older, life wasn't fair, and he would never truly get what he wanted without some sort of consequence marring it. 

At the time, he didn't think there was anything noteworthy about the morning Five stormed off because he had a fight with their dad. It wasn't uncommon for Five to get pissed about something, throw a tantrum, and then leave. He usually came back to throw some piece of evidence or equation in Reginald Hargreeves' face and then they would debate until Five stormed off again. 

Klaus was mildly interested in Five's determination to time travel, but he didn't think Five would actually go against Dad's wishes. Five had always done whatever he wanted to, but he still played like he was a part of the team. Whether he wanted to be or not, he was a member of the Umbrella Academy. 

He also didn't think much of it when Y/N chased after Five. They were pretty tight, even though Klaus wasn't sure how Y/N put up with Five half the time. Five always believed he was better than the other members of the team and Klaus didn't mind so much when Five talked down to him, but he hated it when Five did it to Y/N. 

He couldn’t help calling after her, but he believed her when she promised that she would be right back. 

He really didn't think much of it at the moment. If Y/N promised she would be right back, then she would be right back. She always kept her promises. 

Except this time, she didn't. He waited for her that night, but she never came back. He waited for her outside the Academy as many times as he could in the following weeks, but she never came running back home like he expected. He sat on her bed and thought that if he just thought about her enough, then she would magically reappear. He curled up on her bed and wished for her, but she never came back. 

He noticed Vanya leaving the lights on in case Five appeared in the middle of the night. She set out sandwiches for Five and treats from Griddy's for Y/N. She told him she didn’t want them to think that they were forgotten. She wanted them to know the Academy would always be their home. 

Neither of them showed up, though. 

As time passed and there was no sign of Y/N, he started to fear she was dead. He started to think that Five had blipped away with her and both of them had gotten themselves killed. There was no sign of them. 

Everyone worried in their own ways, but as weeks, months, and years passed without a glimpse of Y/N, he only found anger. He was angry with her for breaking her promise. He was devastated that she was gone and he might never see her again. He considered using his power just to seek her out, but he knew it wouldn't help anything. He wanted to see her, but not if she was dead. 

Sometimes, he couldn’t help himself. He occasionally got himself sober just to see if she was there. She never was, though. 

A part of him hated Five for taking Y/N away. He couldn't help but think it was all Five's fault. If he had just listened for once and been a good little superhero, then he never would have stormed away, sweeping Y/N up in his bullshit. 

Losing Y/N and Five wasn't the only blow the team faced. Ben's death proved to be the final nail in the coffin of the Umbrella Academy and it wasn't long after that when everyone started to go their own separate ways. They were no longer a team. They were barely a family. With three out of eight of them dead or presumed dead, there wasn't much left to keep everyone together. 

Klaus wasn't sure when he really started to spiral. He had relied on drugs to get him through the day and to avoid using his power. But after so long of constantly fighting it, he grew weary. He wanted to get out, but he felt like he was stuck. He was sure he hated Reginald Hargreeves and was desperate to get as far away from him as he could, so when he saw the first opportunity, he took it. 

He took lovers and fell in and out of their beds. He flitted from one life to the next, never taking the time to settle down. He checked himself into rehab when he needed a bed and rarely went back to the Academy. Going back to his childhood home was always a last resort for him. 

Diego hated Reginald Hargreeves with a passion Klaus almost admired. Diego claimed he didn't want to spend one moment longer with the man than he had to, so he left as soon as he could, and never looked back. Allison was hellbent on getting out to Los Angeles and starting down the exciting path of becoming a Hollywood starlet. Vanya quietly left, claiming she wanted to go to college and figure out what she wanted to do with her life. Luther was the only who seemed to still consider himself a superhero, so he stayed as everyone else fled the family home. 

He lost touch with the others when they all decided to take their own paths away from their shared childhood. He didn’t really bother with Luther or Diego and Allison was far too busy for him. Ben was dead, but he only saw glimpses of him from time to time, usually when he was about to do something stupid or reckless. Vanya was at school or focusing on her music. He had no real connection to any of them, because Reginald Hargreeves never bothered to raise them as a family. He pitted them all against each other and forced them into competition, even though he preached about the merits of teamwork. 

Mostly, Klaus just thought the old man was full of shit. 

And yet, through everything, he still thought of Y/N. He missed her. He was terrified by the thought that she was lying dead somewhere. He hated not knowing what had happened to her or Five. He kept comparing how she made him feel to every other relationship he had. None of them mattered to him like Y/N had mattered to him. 

It wasn't until he got older and gained some perspective that he started to wonder if Y/N was his first love. His _only_ love. 

She made him feel like no one else ever had before. She never tore him down with dry remarks or made him feel like he was a waste of space. She always believed in him, whether he deserved it or not. 

As years passed and there wasn't a hint of her or Five, Klaus started to believe he would never see her again. He thought he lost his chance and would spend the rest of his life searching for someone who made him feel like Y/N did. 

But then she came back. When he was pulled into the visitor's room of the jail he was calling home at the time and saw her waiting for him, he couldn't believe it. And then, because he could truly never do anything right the first time, he was bitter and angry with her. He lashed out and took out his frustrations from the past sixteen years on her. He wanted to tell her he was so relieved that she was back. He had countless questions for her. He wanted to pull her into a hug and never let her go. But it didn't go like that. 

Even though Ben helpfully pointed out he was being a dick, he just couldn’t seem to stop. But he knew one thing. He needed to get out of jail so he could be with her. He had spent so many years thinking of her and wishing she was back, and now that she was, he wasn’t going to waste the opportunity being locked up. He was going to get out for her. 

He pulled the only string he really knew he had to get out of there. He knew even when she was gone, Diego had missed Y/N too. Klaus had always been a little jealous of the relationship between Diego and Y/N, since he knew they were close as well. He caught the way Diego was looking at Y/N, as if having her back was a miracle. So, he played on Diego's feelings and took advantage of having a rich and famous sister. 

It wasn't his proudest moment, but it got the result he wanted. He got out of jail and was able to reconnect with Y/N. 

And boy, did they reconnect. 

Klaus didn’t realize how much he truly needed Y/N until she was back in his life. He felt like he could breathe for the first time in years. He resolved to not let anything get between them, because if he lost her again, then he wasn’t sure if he would survive. 

He didn’t care that the world was going to end. He didn’t care that he had to go back to the Academy and live under Reginald Hargreeves’ roof again. He didn’t care about anything except for Y/N. 

When he was taken by Hazel and Cha-Cha, he tried his best to not buckle under pressure. He would gladly rat out Five if it meant he was saving himself, but he wasn't going to do anything that would harm Y/N. So, he stayed quiet and only doled out information when he didn't think it was anything that would backfire on himself or her. It didn’t help that he was in the beginning stages of withdrawal. 

He was so relieved when Y/N found him. He really thought he would be tortured to death and he hated the idea of Y/N finding him too late. He knew she would find him, but he just wasn't sure if it would be in time. 

He didn't think much of the briefcase. He thought it would have money or something valuable enough to pawn. He never thought it would take him back in time to 1968. 

He never thought it would lead him to Dave. 

It wasn't like he just fell into bed with the first attractive person to cross his path. He landed in 1968 with no idea how he really got there and with no clear way home. He spent his first few weeks in the past completely freaked out. 

He was terrified of the briefcase. He didn't even know how it worked, but it had somehow dumped him in a different decade. If he fucked it all up trying to use it, then he might never make it back to his own time. If he didn’t figure out how to actually use it, then he would never make it back to Y/N. 

If he wasn’t careful, then he could end up jumping between one year to the next, and never manage to make it home. He would have to stay put until he figured out the briefcase. 

He never wanted to be a superhero, but the decision was taken out of his hands from birth. He never wanted to be a soldier, either. The decision to fight in a war he never signed up for was also something he had very little say in. He was thrown right into battle and trained when he wasn't fighting. He was expected to kill and fight for his country, or he would be branded a traitor. He couldn't escape and he didn't want to fight. He wanted to go home and he wanted to be with Y/N. 

Within the first couple of weeks, he had to watch young men get shipped home in pieces. He watched countless people die in senseless ways. He had a gun shoved in his hand and was told to aim it at the so-called enemy. He didn’t want to be there, but he had no choice. Where was he going to go? What was he going to do if he couldn’t go home? He felt like he was falling apart with each day he spent there. 

Through it all, Dave was there for him. 

Dave took him under his wing. Dave let him talk and ramble about anything and everything that came to mind, and he never once told Klaus to shut up. He didn’t get tired of Klaus like most people seemed to. If anything, Dave seemed like he was interested in actually getting to know Klaus. 

He knew there was a spark between them. He was a hopeless flirt and he couldn't help but turn his charm on the one person he could actually stand talking to. He just didn't expect for Dave to actually show an interest in him. 

"So, what about you, Hargreeves?" Dave asked, swaying closer to him from where he was sitting next to him in the mess tent. "Got a special someone?" 

"Oh, I've got a girl back home," Klaus answered. It was what he kept reminding himself of as he tried not to get lost in Dave's beautiful blue eyes. Dave was funny and charming and smart. He was sweet and strong and caring. He was checking every box for Klaus, but he knew he couldn’t act on his feelings. He couldn’t do that to Y/N. 

"Oh, right. Of course you do," Dave said, glancing quickly back to his food. 

Klaus knew he wasn't imagining the disappointment in Dave's tone. 

He didn't plan to fall in love. He didn't think there would ever be room in his heart for anyone but Y/N. But Dave was like Y/N. He believed in Klaus. He was patient with him and unbelievably kind. He was capable and vulnerable. He accepted Klaus like hardly anyone else bothered to. 

While Klaus was struggling to get through the day, Dave was there to lift him up. As weeks passed and he was still stuck in the past, Klaus started to fall for Dave. 

Their relationship took off in a weird twist of fate. 

Klaus had needed an escape and went somewhere he knew would offer a few hours of respite. He found the first place that offered alcohol, music, and the opportunity to forget himself for a while. 

He didn't care how he looked as he danced along to the music. He didn't care if he looked like he didn't quite know what to do with his limbs or if he took up too much space on the dance floor. He didn't care, because it was helping him. He just wanted to close his eyes, lose himself to the music, and try to forget the way his whole being ached when he thought of home and Y/N. 

He was so lost in the music that he didn't even realize he was steadily moving backwards. It wasn't until he literally bumped into someone that he took a moment to notice his surroundings. 

Of course it was Dave standing behind him, a sheepish grin on his face. Of course it was Dave who swayed a bit closer to him, daring to dance with him for just a moment before he spun away. Of course it was Dave who followed him to the bar and shot him a grin, making Klaus feel weak in the knees. 

Of course it was Dave. 

“What are you doing here, Hargreeves?” Dave asked, signaling to the bartender for another shot. 

“Just wanted to get away for a while,” Klaus answered. 

He didn’t miss the way Dave moved a bit closer to him as he moved to grab his drink from the bar. He didn’t miss the way Dave’s fingers brushed against his own on the bar top. He didn’t miss the way Dave’s cheeks flushed or the shy smile he sent Klaus’ way. 

“In that case,” Dave started, moving even closer. “Can I buy you a drink?” 

He wasn't sure what shifted after that, but something did. He found himself seeking Dave out more and more. They would sneak out to go to the disco and dance near each other. They would toast each other with shots of whatever alcohol was given that night and they would find a deserted hallway or corner to hang out and talk. 

He didn't know how hanging out became making out. He didn't know which one of them made the first move. It just seemed inevitable. 

From the moment he crash-landed in 1968 in nothing but a towel and his coat, clutching a briefcase to his chest, and met Dave's wide, startled eyes, Klaus should have known he would fall for him. 

He still missed Y/N. It wasn’t like he had forgotten about her. He missed her so much sometimes he could barely think. But Dave helped him. Dave pulled him up when he felt like he was going to sink. 

The first kiss with Dave was indescribable. Klaus felt like he was floating. He felt like nothing could harm him or touch him as long as he was pressed up against Dave. He knew that there was a very real danger waiting for him the second he got back to base and was thrust back into the war, but he forgot about it all once he had Dave kissing him. 

"I thought you had a girl back home," Dave breathed against his mouth. 

And then it all came crashing back down around him. 

He pulled away from Dave, feeling guilty. How could he do that to Y/N? He loved her so much and he never wanted to hurt her, but hadn't he just betrayed her? Wasn't every second he spent in 1968 with Dave betraying his relationship with her? 

"You're right," he said, blinking at Dave in confusion and horror. 

When Dave moved in to kiss him again, he didn't push him away. But he felt like he should have. 

After, he really tried to stay away from Dave. He tried to think of nothing but Y/N, but as more battles were fought and he felt like he was fighting to remember who he was and why he was there, he couldn't help but seek solace in Dave. 

He came to confide in Dave. Not many people actually got to know Klaus Hargreeves, but he wanted to make sure Dave did. He wanted to tell Dave everything, even if it made him sound crazy. He knew Dave would understand. Dave always understood him. 

When he figured out how to use the briefcase to get back to his original time, he knew it became a choice of Y/N or Dave. He reasoned with himself that Dave was in constant trouble in 1968. He couldn't leave him in an active warzone. He loved Y/N and wanted to be with her, but he had come to rely on Dave. He wasn't sure how he could go back to the future and give up having Dave there for him every day. 

He knew that once he went back, he would have to tell Y/N everything, because he loved her too much to lie to her. He would lose her. He knew it would drive her away. After everything she went through to save them all from the apocalypse, he knew that what he was doing was going to break her heart. He couldn't bear it. He figured if he was already in this deep, then what was the harm of staying? If he could travel back to the time he left, then he could always use the briefcase to join her again. He didn't have to give up Dave if he was already going to lose Y/N. 

He knew it was stupid and selfish. He knew he should be better, but he couldn't leave Dave. Dave was the only reason he kept going most days and if he left Dave and went to the future, then he might lose him for good. He couldn't stomach the thought of never seeing Dave again, so he stayed. He stayed for Dave. He stayed because no matter how guilty he felt about it, he loved Dave. 

Some nights, he would lie awake on his cot and think about stealing Dave away to the future. He knew it was a lot to expect Y/N to accept Dave, but he couldn't help but think they would get along so well. They were both such kind and fierce souls. It was no wonder he fell in love with both of them. 

He stayed with Dave and fought by his side. He tried to approach the subject of leaving with Dave, but he wasn't quite sure how to explain they would be abandoning the war, leaving the past, to hopefully have a future together. 

He never got the chance to actually ask Dave, though. 

They were in the middle of another battle when it all came crashing down on him again. 

Klaus hated the chaos and destruction of war. He hated killing for a war he didn't believe in, but if Dave was there, then he would follow. 

They had a close call. Klaus knew that if he hadn't ducked in time, then there would be no point to hoping for a future with Y/N and Dave. He let out a startled laugh, looking over to see Dave still lying behind the barricade. 

"That was close, yeah?" Klaus shouted over the gunfire. He reached out to put a hand on Dave's shoulder, feeling his insides go cold when Dave didn't react. 

"Dave?" He called, reaching out to gently pull on Dave's shoulder. He rolled Dave over, fearing the worst. He didn't even notice the blood at first. All he could focus on was the way Dave stared sightlessly up at the sky. "Dave," he couldn't help but say again. "Come on, Dave," he cried. He pressed his hands to Dave's chest, noticing the wound that stole Dave from him in just one moment. One senseless moment and Dave was no more. 

He didn't remember much of the rest of that night. He had Dave's dried blood on his hands and at some point he picked up his weapon. He was so angry and hurt and crushed. He wasn't really thinking when he fired on the people they swore were the enemy. All he could think was that one of them had taken away Dave and he would never get him back because of them. 

He remembered screaming and pleading for Dave to come back. He remembered helplessly wishing that he was sober so he could use his power. He wanted Dave back, but all of the violence and bloodshed in the world wasn't going to erase Dave's death. Dave was still gone and Klaus only felt hollow inside. 

He was in a daze as he made it back to the barracks that night. He could hardly think past grabbing the briefcase, knowing it would take him far away. It would take him away from Dave's body and the destruction he had wrought that night in pursuit of vengeance. Klaus felt numb and wrung out. He wondered if he had returned to the future the moment he figured out how, then would Dave still be alive? Did he get Dave killed by staying in the past? Would Dave still be dead without Klaus? 

He didn't remember much about returning to the future. He just remembered feeling so lost. He wanted to destroy something. He wanted to destroy _everything_. Dave was one of the only people worth anything to him and he was gone. He didn’t know how to process truly losing one of the only people he loved. 

He took out his anger on the briefcase. He screamed as he hit it against the pavement over and over again. He couldn't help but think without it, he never would have experienced this kind of loss. He knew there was more of it on the way, but with Dave's blood on his hands and the sight of his body plaguing him every time he closed his eyes, he couldn't think about much besides wanting to curl up in the middle of the sidewalk and cry. 

He didn't know how he got back to the Academy. His feet carried him to the bathroom where he managed to finally wash the blood off his hands. He sat in the tub, staring at the wall, and wished he could see Dave again. He knew what he would have to do, but it would take all of his strength to achieve it. If he wanted to see Dave, then the only way to manage that was by using his power. If he wanted to use his power, then he would have to get sober. The thought of feeling everything and opening himself up to all of those screaming ghosts again terrified him, but he knew it would be worth it if he could just get even a glimpse of Dave again. 

"Just give me a little time," he whispered to himself. 

"To do what?" Ben asked. 

Klaus' eyes snapped open at the voice he hadn't heard in months. "You're back." 

Ben quirked an eyebrow at him. "So are you." 

Klaus couldn't help but laugh, feeling a bit unhinged as he turned towards his room. He needed to put on some clothes and then he would figure out what to do. 

He knew Ben followed him back to his room, but he left once he started changing. When he heard someone behind him, he thought it would be Ben again, but he should have known he wouldn't be so lucky. 

He turned to see Y/N standing there, worry evident in her expression. 

The sling was one of the first things he noticed about her. When she told him she got shot, his mind flashed back to the battlefield, watching Dave stare lifelessly up at the night sky. He didn't understand why everyone he loved got hurt. He felt breathless at just the thought that he could have lost her like he lost Dave. 

He wanted to put off telling her about Dave for as long as possible. He told her about the briefcase and the war. He told her about all of the bloody, despicable things he had to do to survive in a time he wasn't meant to be in. He knew she would understand. She had been forced out of her own time and spent years under the thumb of a company that made her do their bidding. He knew she wouldn't condemn him for those actions. 

He kissed her, thinking it would be the last time. Once he started talking about Dave, he almost didn't want to look at her and see her heart break because of him. Hearing the pain in her voice and knowing he caused it was bad enough. 

He hated fighting with her, but watching her leave him was worse. He hated that she was shutting him out by using her power. No matter how hard he tried, the force field wasn’t going to come down until she was ready to let it go. 

He didn't want to watch her walk away, but he really didn't want to have to talk to Five. 

By the time the force field disappeared, Five had already asked him about time travel and the briefcase. Klaus couldn't help glancing at the doorway, hoping that Y/N would come back, but he knew she was probably already out of the Academy. 

He brushed off as many of Five’s questions as he could, thinking that if Y/N didn't want to be anywhere near him in that moment, then he had somewhere else he could go to be with someone he loved. By the time Five was seemingly done with him, Klaus felt like he was going to vibrate out of his skin with restlessness. He had very little patience for Five and his countless questions. 

"Oh, and Klaus?" Five said as he finally turned to leave the room. 

"What?" Klaus groaned. He just wanted Five to leave him alone. 

"If you hurt my partner again, I'll make what Hazel and Cha-Cha did to you look like child’s play.” 

Klaus narrowed his eyes at Five. "You're one to talk. She told me about the shit you used to pull. You’ve hurt her just as much as I have." 

Five turned swiftly and advanced on Klaus. "I'm going to do what it takes to protect her and all of you," he insisted. "What did your little trip to the past do except prove you're not good enough for her?" 

Klaus clenched his jaw, wanting to protest, but he couldn't. Five was right. Y/N would always be too good for him. Dave had been too good for him. All he did was get the people he loved hurt. 

He moved to brush past Five. 

"Where are you going?" 

"To find something to drink," he snapped. 

He made his way to the living room, feeling helpless and angry. As he searched the bar for the perfect escape, he couldn't help but feel like he lost the only two people he ever really cared about more than himself. 

"That won't bring her back. Or him," Ben said. 

"I know that," Klaus growled as he finally plucked a bottle of vodka from the offerings of the liquor cabinet. "But it will help." 

"You can't go on using this as a crutch, Klaus," Ben pointed out. "You're going to have to come down at some point." 

"I know that," Klaus repeated, irritated that Ben was still bothering him when he just wanted to shut him out. He stumbled out into the foyer, taking note of the destroyed table and fallen chandelier, before he heard Diego walk into the room. 

He didn't give Diego the choice of leaving the Academy without him. He knew where he wanted to go, because it was the only place he would have a chance to see Dave. 

His loss was still fresh on his mind as he walked up to the photo displayed on the wall of the VFW. He ignored the others trying to get him to leave. They thought he didn't belong, but Klaus was used to that feeling. He didn't care if they thought he was out of place as long as he got to look at Dave again. 

He brought a hand up, brushing his fingers over the glass of the photo frame, and wondered what it would take to steal it without anyone noticing. 

He thought the hand on his shoulder was the idiot trying to make him leave, but it turned out to be Diego. He tried to brush off Diego like he had Five and Ben, but he should have known Diego was as stubborn as he was overprotective. 

After, when he was back in Diego's car, he listened to Diego ask him countless questions about what he thought he was doing going in there and when did he learn to fight like that. Diego knew he never really cared about the sparring sessions between him and Y/N enough to actively participate. Klaus had watched them train Vanya and he reluctantly put up with Y/N making sure he at least remembered some of his training from their superhero days, but he never really wanted to fight. He didn’t even mean to get into a bar brawl, but instinct had kicked in, and he found himself joining Diego. 

When Diego spotted Hazel and then Y/N pursuing him, Klaus couldn't help but hold his breath as Diego tried to coax her into the car. He hated that one look at him had her attempting to get even farther away from him. When she finally conceded and climbed into the backseat, he felt himself relax just the slightest bit. 

The silence that overtook the car while Diego tracked Hazel and Cha-Cha was almost deafening. It was filled with everything he wanted to say, but couldn't bring himself to. It was rife with tension between himself and Y/N. He couldn't help but look at her from time to time, as if he wanted to keep checking she was still there. 

When they got to the motel, Klaus half-suspected that Y/N went her own way because she wanted to get away from him. Even though Diego told him to stay put, he couldn't just wait with the car until either one of them got back. 

He followed Diego towards the stairs, even though he wanted to go after Y/N. 

Diego must have heard him on the stairs, because he turned quickly, one of his knives poised to strike. "Oh, it's you. I thought I told you to stay with the car," Diego said before he turned to keep walking up the stairs. 

"I decided to follow you," Klaus offered with a shrug of his shoulders, almost dropping the bottle of vodka in his hand with the gesture. 

Diego grumbled something under his breath before he paused in the stairwell. He glanced around, but didn't seem to see whatever it was he was looking for. "So, what's up with you and Y/N? You two are usually all over each other, but now you're not speaking? What? You had a lover's quarrel?" He asked as he resumed climbing the stairs. 

Klaus took a swig of vodka before he decided to confess. He figured if Five knew, then it was only a matter of time before everyone else did too. "I met someone else while I was away. I cheated on her." 

Diego froze in front of him and Klaus couldn't help bumping into him. 

Diego turned to stare at him, his brow furrowed in confusion and anger. "You were away from her for one night. What the fuck, Klaus?" 

Klaus shook his head. "It was a lot longer than that." 

"And what? That makes it okay?" 

Klaus wondered if Diego even realized he was holding one of his knives up again, as if he was thinking about using it to defend Y/N’s honor. Klaus thought for a moment he might welcome the pain. Diego _should_ defend Y/N. 

"No! Fuck, no. I know it isn't," he responded. “It’s the furthest thing from okay. I’ve got that.” 

He couldn't help but think he should be fighting with Y/N about this and not Diego. 

"You know just as well as I do all the shit she went through to get back here. And that's how you repay her?" 

"You don't know the full story, Diego," Klaus snapped. He should have welcomed Diego's criticism, he thought. He knew he was to blame. He knew Diego was just looking out for Y/N. But he couldn't help but feel like this wasn't Diego's concern. This was between him and Y/N, and somehow, everyone else seemed to be weighing in except for her. 

Diego scoffed and shook his head, turning to walk up the rest of the stairs. 

He wasn't prepared for the squeal of tires or for Diego to throw himself back, as if worried about an attack from down below. He scrunched his eyes tight, trying not to fall sharply into memories of the war, and pressed forward to see what had spooked Diego. 

It was Y/N. Well, it was Hazel and Cha-Cha driving by in their car, but Y/N was in the backseat. He realized then that she had left to likely catch Hazel and Cha-Cha by surprise. 

He felt like he was going to panic at the sight of Y/N driving by him with Hazel and Cha-Cha. He couldn't believe she had the nerve to salute him and Diego as she passed them, as if she wasn't throwing herself into danger yet again. As if she hadn't just been injured fighting Hazel and Cha-Cha. As if they couldn’t just as easily kill her if she slipped up even once. 

He followed Diego down the stairs in a daze, knowing that they wouldn’t reach the car in time. He wasn't aware that he was on the verge of hyperventilating until Diego reached out to cautiously put a hand on his shoulder. 

"Hey, we're tracking them," Diego reminded him. "We'll get her back." 

"I spent one night with them and they almost killed me," Klaus pointed out. "What if she's dead by the time we catch up to them?" 

"She won't be," Diego assured him. He turned until he was fully facing Klaus, his hands on his shoulders as he lightly shook him. "She's just as lethal, remember? She's smart and fully capable of taking both of them out if she has to. She's going to be fine." 

He blinked and nodded his head, keeping eye contact with Diego. Finally, he broke away to take another quick drink of vodka. "Let's get the fuck out of here, then," he grumbled, taking off across the parking lot. 

Of course, even though Y/N was one step ahead of Hazel and Cha-Cha, they were one step ahead of him and Diego. 

"I can't fucking believe this," Diego hissed as he kicked uselessly at one of the flat tires on his car. "Fuck," he groaned as he limped away from the car. 

"Well, we can't follow them now, right? We don't have a vehicle," Klaus pointed out. 

Diego ignored him, scanning the parking lot. "I've got an idea," he finally muttered as he turned and gestured towards the ice cream truck parked right beside him. 

On the long list of things Klaus had tried in his life, he had never expected to add driving an ice cream truck to the list. Diego was keeping an eye on the tracker, which left Klaus to follow his directions. 

Even though he was admittedly tipsy, he still held onto his determination to get to Y/N. He knew that she would be okay. Diego had done a lot to reassure him. But after losing Dave, he couldn't stomach the thought that he would have driven her away just to get her killed. 

When he saw her standing at the side of the road with Luther and Five, he couldn't help but wave at her, knowing it would only serve to piss her off. He figured he was already in deep water, he might as well swim farther away from the shore. 

Diego kept yelling at him to go faster, since he wanted to take out Hazel and Cha-Cha before they could prove to be more of a problem. Klaus just wanted it to all be over, so he pressed his foot harder on the gas pedal and carried on. 

He felt a bit out of it after crashing the truck into Hazel and Cha-Cha's car. He had only a moment to really process what just happened before he was tripping out of the truck, turning to help Diego out. Luther joined them, making sure they were okay, before he herded them over towards the old family car. 

Y/N was in the driver's seat and she barely waited for them all to be inside before she took off. Klaus was sure he was in for another silent car ride, so he turned a little in his seat, resolving to stare out the window until they got back to the Academy. 

The silence didn't last, though. 

He heard Luther ask Y/N to slow down and when he glanced at her, he saw that her hands were clutching the steering wheel so tightly her arms were shaking. He knew her shoulder must have been killing her, but it wasn't his place to try to get through to her now. He had given that up when he broke her heart. 

Diego glanced to him, a look of concern on his face, before he leaned forward in his seat. 

"Seriously, Y/N. You okay?" 

"No," she answered. 

Klaus could tell she was angry and hurt. He knew she was pissed off. 

He sighed and glanced out the window, knowing only one thing for sure. 

While Klaus Hargreeves was not a fuck up, he was sure that this was all his fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The part about Klaus killing others after Dave's death only came about because in the show, when Diego was talking about killing Hazel and Cha-Cha for killing Patch, Klaus told him it wouldn't bring him peace. It just sounded like he knew that because he had been down that road before. So...don't hate me for that. I hope this wasn't a major disappointment. I know some of y'all were likely expecting something different. 
> 
> I love and care about you all. If any of y'all ever need to talk, please feel free to reach out to me. You can find me on Tumblr or I can even give you my e-mail address if you don't have a Tumblr. Please stay safe and take care of yourselves. ♥


	7. I'm Warnin' You, Babe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friendly reminder this is the chapter based on 'The Day That Wasn't.' So...don't hate me.
> 
> Brief mention of child abuse in this chapter.

You weren't sure how you managed to get the car and everyone inside it back to the mansion without crashing. You let your emotions rule your actions as you sped down the deserted highway and then swerved in and out of traffic once back in the city. You didn’t care when other drivers honked their horns at you or when you came dangerously close to clipping the bumper of the car in front of you. You knew you were being reckless, but you were just so _done_ with everything. 

You were exhausted and hurting and you wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed at that moment. 

You knew the others were worried about you, but you couldn't find it in yourself to assure them that you were fine. Besides being a complete lie, you were sure they would see right through your bullshit. So, you kept silent and ignored Luther’s constant offers to drive instead. 

When you finally arrived at the Academy, you barely took the time to pull the car into park before you moved to get out. 

"Wait, Y/N," Diego called, quickly following after you. 

“You didn’t turn the car off!” You heard Luther yell. 

"It's been a long day," you told Diego as you chose to ignore Luther. You barely spared a glance at Diego over your shoulder as you walked into the mansion. "I just need a moment to myself, okay?" 

Diego sighed before he reached out to tug on your shirt. "Just hold on for a moment." 

You groaned before you turned to look at him. "What?" 

"Klaus told me what happened.” You saw Diego grimace, as if he was remembering everything Klaus confessed to him. 

"Great," you muttered. "Five knows and now you do. It won't be long until the whole family is caught up." 

"If you need to talk," Diego started, trailing off as Klaus passed by the both of you. "You know where to find me." 

"The only thing I want to do right now is go to my room and pass out." You managed to offer Diego a small, sincere smile. "But thanks, Diego. I'll find you if I need you." 

Diego nodded his head before he let you go. 

You dragged your feet all the way to your room, ignoring the sound of Klaus talking to someone you assumed was Ben farther down the hallway. You shuffled into your room, closed the door behind you, and then collapsed on your bed. You barely managed to get into a comfortable position that didn't pull on your injured shoulder before you drifted off to sleep. 

When you woke and looked outside, you noticed it was early the next morning. You couldn't believe you actually got to sleep through the night without someone waking you up, but you figured they knew to leave you alone until you were ready to face them all again. 

You considered trying to get another couple of hours of sleep, but just as you closed your eyes again, you heard someone tentatively knock on your door. You groaned into your pillow, wishing you had just a few more moments to yourself to wake up. 

"Come in," you called, finally pushing yourself to sit up. 

You thought it would be Diego checking on you. You thought maybe Five was somehow back and willing to share information. You expected anyone to be at your door except for Klaus. 

"What are you doing here?" You asked, frowning at him. 

"Y/N," Klaus said as he pushed your bedroom door fully open. "We have to talk about this," he continued as he took a few, cautious steps into your room. 

You bit your lip and glanced away from him. "I don't know how," you finally confessed. "I think I just need time, Klaus. You haven’t given me enough time." 

Klaus let out a laugh that sounded surprisingly bitter. "We don't seem to have much of it left." 

"Five and I will stop the apocalypse," you said, not sure if it was more of a promise or foolish hope at this point. You were still angry with Five and unless he came back, everything was up to you. You still held out hope that he would come back, though. You knew that Five wouldn’t contact The Handler unless it was a last resort, but you still couldn’t get over him leaving you again. 

You jumped in surprise when Klaus was suddenly in front of you, his hands cupping your face. "I just need to know if there's hope for us," he said. "I know that what I did hurt you and I'm sorry. But I'd like a chance. Any chance. Every chance. Whatever you'll give me." 

You sighed and glanced up at Klaus. "You hurt me," you told him. "It hurts like hell, you know? With everything I’ve been through, you were the last person I ever thought would do this to me." 

Klaus nodded his head. "I know," he whispered. 

"I want to forgive you," you confessed. A part of you wanted to forget everything and just reach out to pull him into your arms. You couldn’t, though. Klaus’ betrayal was still an open and fresh wound. "And there's so many other things going on. I know you were stuck in a war and I know you were gone for ten months. I get that, but it feels like one day you're the love of my life who would never betray me, and the next, you're telling me you've met someone else." 

"Please, Y/N. Try to understand," he begged. "I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't mean to fall in love with Dave." 

"I'm trying to understand," you told Klaus as you moved to get off the bed, shaking off his hold. "But I just don't know how to do this anymore. I know you went through something and I'm sorry you did. But I can't just conveniently forget that while you were away you went and fell in love with someone else. Like, what? I wasn't good enough?" 

"No, no, _no_ ," Klaus insisted, reaching out to grab your hands. He pulled on them until you were facing him. "You will always be enough for me." 

You felt tears begin to burn your eyes as you glanced away from him. You couldn't look into his eyes, seeing how earnest and sincere he was in that moment, and keep your composure. "I can't, Klaus. I just can't right now. Between the apocalypse and Five leaving and my old company out to kill me and Five, I just can't take feeling like this on top of it." 

"Like what?" Klaus asked, voice soft. 

"Like I've lost you," you said, your voice strained. "Like what you shared with Dave overwrites what we had." 

"Had?" Klaus repeated, his hands tightening around yours. "What do you mean 'had'?" 

"I just can't do this right now, Klaus. I thought I would find you and everything would be the same. And I was going out of my mind with worry after Hazel and Cha-Cha took you. I wanted to kill them. I tried to kill them," you got out on a choked laugh. "And I spent all of that night thinking the worst. I was terrified at the thought that I had lost you and then I found you again. I was so relieved." You took a deep, shuddering breath. "But then it turned out that I did end up losing you." 

"You didn't lose me, Y/N," Klaus insisted. "I'm right here," he said as he ducked his head, trying to get you to meet his eyes. 

You bit your lip and shook your head. "But are you?" You pulled your hands away and turned your back on him. "I have to go," you said, moving to leave the room. 

"Wait," Klaus said, reaching for you. 

"Give her some space," Diego spoke up from the doorway. He was considering you and Klaus, his eyes narrowed in thought. "She doesn't want to do this with you right now." 

You brushed past Diego, thankful that he had stepped in. You had always been spectacularly bad at denying Klaus anything. You felt like you would crack sooner or later, but you knew that you couldn't focus on your relationship drama with Klaus at the moment. Apocalypse first, you thought to yourself, and then you could work on repairing whatever was left of your relationship. 

"I don't remember asking you to butt in, Diego," you heard Klaus hiss as you turned the corner, intent on leaving the mansion as soon as you could. 

Before you could get anywhere near the front door, though, you were stopped by Luther. 

"We're having a family meeting," he told you. "If you're up to it," he added, gesturing at your shoulder. "Have you even changed the bandage in the past day?" 

"I'll be fine," you dismissed. "What's the meeting about?" You asked, eyeing your escape. If it was something stupid, then you would just leave. You had so much to figure out that you weren't sure if you should stick around for something that didn't really matter in the end. 

"It's about the apocalypse," Luther said. "Five told me." 

"Oh," you breathed, shutting your eyes and sighing. Luther had managed to find the one subject guaranteed to have your full attention at the moment. "Then let's get this over with," you said, as you moved to follow him. 

"Go ahead in there," Luther told you as he nodded towards the living room. "I'm going to get the others." 

Allison was already standing near the bar when you walked into the living room. She offered you a smile and handed you a takeout cup of coffee. 

"Thanks," you told her before you moved to pull yourself up onto the bar. 

Allison quirked an eyebrow at you. "Why are you sitting up there?" 

You shrugged your shoulders, wincing when your shoulder protested the gesture, and moved to fold your legs under you. "Just feel like it." 

"Alright," Allison said, nodding her head. "What's wrong with your shoulder?" 

"Got shot," you answered. You took a sip of your coffee, hoping she would drop the subject. Although, you really should have known that was the kind of subject no one would let drop. 

"What?" Allison asked, surprise and concern in her tone. "What the hell happened? Are you okay?" 

"You know those two that broke in here looking for me and Five? The ones who took Klaus?" 

Allison nodded her head. "They did it?" 

"One of them did," you said before quickly shutting your mouth when you heard voices coming towards the living room. 

Luther led Diego and Klaus into the living room. He moved to stand near Allison while Diego leaned against the back of the couch facing the bar. Klaus glanced at you before he sighed and moved to sit down on the floor. 

"What's this all about, Luther?" Diego asked, crossing his arms. 

"I thought we needed a family meeting. We have a lot to discuss." 

You snorted, rolling your eyes. "This isn't a family meeting until Vanya is here," you pointed out. 

"Or Five," Diego added. 

"Five isn't here because he fucked off to who knows where with a woman who would rather see us all killed than save the world," you muttered. "Vanya isn't here because I'm guessing Luther didn't bother to even try to call her." 

Luther frowned at you. "Vanya doesn't have a power," he pointed out. “She won’t be able to help us.” 

"So? She's still family. For fuck's sake, Luther. She's our sister. She's been through all kinds of bullshit because of her relation to us, so don't even pull that card. Power or not, she's important." You were sick and tired of the others dismissing Vanya because she wasn't born with a power. 

Luther sighed, glancing away from you. “I just needed to tell everyone about something Five told me. I don't even know why I bothered bringing you into this meeting," he said, looking back to you. "You know all about it anyways. You were with Five through it all." 

"I already know about the apocalypse, yeah," you told him. "But newsflash, Luther. Diego, Klaus, and Vanya all know about it too." 

Luther looked quickly to Diego and then Klaus, silently seeking confirmation. "And what? You didn't think it was important enough to clue us in?" He asked as he gestured between himself and Allison. 

"I would have," you pointed out. "I wanted to. But think about everything that has happened since you and Allison got back, okay? I haven’t exactly had the time." 

"You could have found the time," Luther insisted. 

"Oh, yeah? When would that have happened, Luther? When you were accusing me of killing Dad? When Five miraculously returned? While you were squabbling with Diego like you were children again? Or maybe it was when Five and I went to Griddy's and had to kill almost a dozen goons trying to get rid of us on orders from our old company?" 

“You did what?” Allison asked, glancing quickly to you in alarm. 

"Alright, I get it," Luther conceded, holding his hands up. 

"I don't think you do," you told him. "Between fighting off Hazel and Cha-Cha and trying to figure out how the world ends and getting shot and looking for Klaus, do you think I've had the time to sit you and Allison down and have the big apocalypse talk?" 

"I said I get it," Luther bit out. "You don't have to keep talking." 

"Maybe I should," you couldn’t help but say. "Maybe if I keep talking, it will get through to you that we don't have the time for all this family bonding bullshit," you snapped. "The world is ending in just a few days and I'm not any closer to figuring out how the fuck it happens." You forced yourself to take a deep breath, realizing you were coming scarily close to sounding a lot like Five. 

"Well, if you don't, then we'll all be dead," Luther reminded you. 

"You think I don't know that?" You hissed at him. "You think that hasn't been on my mind constantly since I got back?" 

"You should have told us," Luther said, scowling at you. "We could have been helping you this whole time." 

You set your coffee down on the bar beside you, leaning forward as you met Luther's eyes. "What would that have accomplished? The only one in this room who I can honestly trust to have my back anymore is Diego." 

You noticed Klaus flinch out of the corner of your eye, but you didn't turn to look at him. You knew your words hurt, but at the moment, they were true. 

"Maybe you two should both back off," Allison suggested, stepping forward until she was standing between you and Luther. "Nothing is going to happen if you're too busy fighting with each other." She turned to look at you, putting her back to Luther. "Now, what's this about an apocalypse?" 

"Uh, guys?" You heard Vanya call out. "What's going on?" 

When you looked at her, there was a guy you didn't recognize standing just behind her. You remembered her mentioning a guy she was interested in just a couple of days before, but it felt like it had been years since the last time you saw Vanya. 

"Family meeting," Diego answered, turning to consider Vanya. 

"And what? I didn't qualify for an invitation?" She asked, her expression betraying how hurt she was at the thought. 

"Of course you do," you told her, moving to slip off the bar top. You hissed when your shoulder sent you a sharp, painful reminder about your injury and stopped mid-movement. You settled back on the bar, wincing at the throbbing pain coming from your shoulder. 

"Are you okay?" Vanya asked, concern in her tone. "What happened to you?" 

"She was shot," Klaus mentioned, his voice soft and concerned as he glanced up at you. 

You bit your lip and glanced away from him, looking back to Vanya. "You should have been invited, Vanya. I'm sorry." 

Vanya scoffed, looking from you to Luther. "I'm sure it wasn't your call," she said before she glanced at Diego. 

Diego frowned and looked like he was going to say something, but the stranger with Vanya leaned forward to whisper something in her ear. 

You saw her face fall and you couldn't help but focus your attention on the stranger. There was something about him you didn't like. Maybe it was the way he was standing a little too close to Vanya, as if he didn't like the thought of her getting too far away from him. Maybe it was the way he looked at Vanya or the way he glanced around the sitting room. He looked almost hungry, as if he was seeking to possess her and everything around him. 

There was a dark, twisting feeling in your gut that told you not to trust him. 

"Who is this, Vanya?" You asked, keeping your gaze on the stranger. 

"Oh," the man piped up, a nervous expression on his face, that you could tell was just for show. He was _acting_ , you realized suddenly. You didn’t know why, but he was trying to hide something. "I'm Leonard Peabody. It's nice to meet the other members of Vanya's family." He told you with a smile as he raised his hand in a wave. 

"I asked Vanya," you snapped at him. You knew you should take a few moments to get your temper in check, but at that moment, it felt like there was too much going on. You weren't sure who the man was or why he was hanging around Vanya, but there was something off about him. You weren't sure if it was your Temps Commission training or basic human instinct that told you he wasn't any good for her. 

"Leonard is my boyfriend," Vanya said, reaching down to grab Leonard's hand. "And I thought I would bring him here to meet my family and invite you to my show. But I should have known better. I’ve never really been a part of this family." 

You were squinting at Leonard, trying to use your power on him. You didn't know if it was the pain from your shoulder or something else hindering you, but you only got a few brief glimpses of what you were looking for. You had to work to tune out the voices around you in order to get a better peak inside the mind and dreams of Leonard Peabody. 

You saw a man yelling, his face red with rage, as he threw a beer bottle at a kid you assumed was Leonard. You saw the same kid curled up on his bed, reading comic books. And then it skipped to a grown Leonard flipping through the pages of another book. This one looked oddly familiar to you, but before you could try to figure out what it was, Vanya's voice tore you away from your consideration of Leonard. 

"You're all assholes," she snapped before she turned to leave. 

"Vanya, don't go!" You called, glancing around at the others as Vanya stormed out of the room. "What the hell happened?" 

"Weren't you paying attention?" Klaus asked, glancing up at you. "Vanya called us all assholes and then left." 

You rolled your eyes. "Not what I was talking about," you muttered. 

Klaus shrugged his shoulders as he moved to bite at his nails. You squinted down at him, noticing that he looked paler than usual. He was sweating and there were dark rings under his eyes. You worried for a moment that he was sick. You knew he was likely suffering after fighting in a war for ten months and then losing someone close to him, but you weren’t quite sure if that was the only thing wrong with Klaus. 

You glanced back to the doorway, wanting to go after Vanya. Something was telling you that leaving her alone with Leonard wasn’t a good idea. You didn’t like how close he seemed to be to her after only a few days. You also hated that Vanya still didn’t feel like she was part of the family, even though you had worked for months to convince her otherwise. 

You listened to Luther fill Allison in about the impending apocalypse. He told her about Five going to the future and finding the end of the world. He mentioned that everything was completely gone. In a halting, unsure voice, you also heard him tell her about their impending deaths set to happen in just a few days at the hands of an unknown enemy. 

Allison looked shaken as she glanced from Luther to you, as if searching for some kind of assurance that it wasn’t real. She seemed as if she expected for you to tell her Luther was lying or trying to pull some elaborate prank. 

You glanced away from her, not having the heart to tell her that Luther was right for once. 

"So, I've been thinking," Luther started. 

Klaus snorted. "Nothing good has ever come from that," he muttered. 

Luther glared down at him before he continued. "I think this has something to do with the Moon. Dad wouldn't have sent me up there unless it was important, right?" 

"It has nothing to do with the Moon, Luther," you told him with a shake of your head. "It's something else." 

"Well, you don't know that," Luther protested. "Why would Dad send me up there if it wasn't important?" 

"I don't know. I do know we only have three days," you reminded him. "We have three days," you sighed. "We're running out of time." 

"You said we all died?" Allison asked, fear laced in her voice as she glanced to you for confirmation. 

"Five and I found all of you. You were all dead. _Everyone_ was dead. We were there for decades and never came across another living person." 

"If that's true, then I want to go home to Claire. If I only have three days to live, then I want to be with my daughter." 

"I still want to check out Dad's files. Maybe he has something about the Moon," Luther added. “You should stay and help,” Luther suggested as he glanced at Allison. “If we figure this out and stop it, then there won’t be an apocalypse.” 

You barely resisted the urge to roll your eyes, because if Luther wasn't even going to bother listening to you, then what was the point of the family meeting? 

"And we still don't know who causes this or why," Diego pointed out. "So, what gives us a win this time?" 

"Yeah, what's going to keep us all from dying again?" Klaus asked as he wrapped his arms around his middle, hunching over a bit. 

"Five," Luther answered. He hesitated for a moment before looking at you. "And Y/N. We didn't have them last time." 

"Don't put all of your faith in me," you told Luther. "I've been here for six months and I'm no closer to figuring anything out. Our one real lead went down in flames. Literally. And I've been looking for something of Dad's, but I haven't tracked it down yet." 

"What is it?" Diego asked. 

It hit you then. The book that you saw in Leonard's dreams. It was Reginald Hargreeves' journal. "How the fuck did he get that?" You wondered, glancing back to the doorway. 

"How did he get what? You're not making sense, Y/N," Diego said, taking a few steps towards you. 

"You guys do whatever the hell you want," you said, finally pushing yourself off the bar top. "I've got something I need to do.” 

"Now wait a minute," Luther called after you. 

You didn't bother stopping to listen to him, though. If you were lucky, then Leonard and Vanya hadn't gotten that far from the Academy. You stopped by your room to grab your gun and the knife you had neglected to return to Diego, having managed to put them on your nightstand before you passed out the previous day, before you slipped out of the back door of the mansion. 

You weren't sure if they had been delayed, but you were grateful that it didn't take you long to find Vanya and Leonard. They were seemingly arguing in the middle of the street. You saw Leonard glance around as he moved to lean in towards Vanya. You quickly moved to duck behind a car, not wanting to be spotted. 

There was a rush of something through the air before everything went still and quiet for a moment. You startled when the car alarm next to you went off along with the others lined along the street. You glanced to where Leonard and Vanya had been and noticed Vanya shaking her head before she moved away. It was then you noticed the street lights were all bent, as if something had pushed them until they angled away from the street. 

“What the fuck?” You didn't have time to wonder about it, though. Leonard was following after Vanya, so you had to follow after Leonard. 

You trailed after them for the rest of the day, knowing that if you were going to figure out where the journal was, then your best bet was to keep following Leonard. You didn't know why he had the journal or how he even came by it, but you knew that if he bothered to read it, then he knew far more about the Umbrella Academy than you were comfortable with. You started to suspect that Leonard might have been the one you and Five were searching for all along, but you couldn't figure out why he had decided to go through Vanya to get to the rest of the family. If Leonard caused the apocalypse, then why was he obviously targeting Vanya first? 

You tracked them to a house you assumed was Leonard's. While Leonard and Vanya were in the living room, you moved around the house until you came to a window at the back of the house. You used Diego's knife to pry it open, taking care to not make too much noise. 

It took you longer than you liked to pull yourself into the house, since your shoulder was a steady ache that reminded you with each movement that you still had an open wound and you really needed to get the bandage changed. 

You pulled yourself through the window, glancing around to make sure you were still unnoticed. You slowly closed the window, wincing when it squeaked in protest, but you didn't hear anyone come running to check out the noise, so you figured you would be okay. 

When you took a moment to look around, you assumed you were in Leonard's bedroom. You weren't sure how much time you had before you were discovered, so you started searching for the journal. 

You didn't find anything incriminating in the nightstand and there was nothing in the closet that proved that Leonard was a bad guy with nefarious intentions towards Vanya and the rest of the family. You searched through drawers and notebooks piled on his desk, but you didn't find the journal. 

You were thinking about sneaking into another room in order to continue your search before your gaze settled on the bed. 

You dropped to your knees and crawled forward, scanning under Leonard's bed. It was then you spotted the journal under the foot of the bed and you moved to pull it towards you. You glanced down at the familiar engraved initials on the cover of the journal before you opened it. 

You felt your breath catch at the sight of your dad's handwriting. All of the notes and observations he had taken over the years were written on the pages of the journal. You had never completely understood your father, but knowing that Leonard had managed to get a true glimpse at the man had your anger returning. 

You clutched the book to your chest before you stood up. You didn't even care if Leonard or Vanya heard you now. You needed answers and for once, you were going to get them. 

You moved from Leonard's bedroom and headed in the direction of the voices you could hear carrying from the front of the house. You stepped into the living room, noticing Leonard and Vanya sitting on Leonard's couch, quietly discussing something. 

"Who the fuck are you?" You snarled, holding up your dad's journal as you looked at Leonard. 

"Y/N," Vanya said, her brow furrowed. "What are you doing here?" 

"Where did you get this?" You asked Leonard, shaking the journal at him. “Did you break into the Academy for it? How did you even know about it?” 

"Why are you in my house? How did you get in?" Leonard questioned you as he moved to stand up. 

"Broke in through a window," you answered. "Now tell me where you got this journal," you demanded, using your free hand to pull your gun from your waistband. 

"I don't know what that is, but if you don't get out of here, then I'm going to call the cops," Leonard insisted. 

"Leonard, she's my sister. She won’t hurt us," Vanya said as she pushed herself off the couch. She took a couple of steps towards you, a worried look on her face. "Y/N, what's this about?" 

“He had Dad’s journal, Vanya. He’s not who he’s pretending to be.” 

Vanya shook her head, glancing at Leonard and then quickly back to you. “Leonard has really been there for me the past few days. He’s been nothing but kind. I’m sure it’s all just some weird misunderstanding.” 

You noticed the way Leonard considered Vanya and caught the brief, smug expression on his face. He was still acting. You knew then that he couldn't be trusted. He was playing with Vanya and you wanted to know why. You knew that if Leonard was the one to cause the apocalypse, then he had the capability to hurt Vanya and everyone else you loved. Leonard was a threat to your loved ones, and thanks to the Temps Commission, you knew exactly how to take care of him. 

As you raised your gun and aimed it at Leonard, you found yourself truly grateful for the first time that they had instilled in you that particular aspect of your training. "It's you, isn't it?" 

Leonard looked unbothered as he held his hands up. "What's me?" 

"It's _you_ ," you repeated. "You're the one." 

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Leonard smirked for one fleeting moment, and that was all the confirmation you needed. 

"You really do cause it all," you breathed, shocked for a moment. You barely took a moment to think before you were pulling the trigger and watching Leonard fall to the floor, dead. 

You heard Vanya scream and then you were sitting on the bar top in the living room of the Academy. 

You frowned around the room, thinking you should go after Vanya, but something was off. You had the worst feeling of déjà vu and you weren't sure why. 

"So, what gives us a win this time?" Diego asked. 

You were still glancing around the living room, wondering why everything felt the same, but somehow different, when Five appeared. He groaned as he crashed to the floor, his arms shaking as he began to lift himself up. 

"Am I still high, or is Five really here?" Klaus asked, his voice hushed. 

You listened to the others question Five, but all you could focus on was the anger you felt at seeing him again. He looked like he had just had the fight of his life and it was all because he had left you. Again. If he had bothered to take you with him or simply stayed, then he wouldn’t look like hell now. 

You weren't really thinking when you grabbed the cup of coffee Allison had given you and threw it so it hit the floor near Five's feet. 

Five looked down at where the lid had popped off, splattering drops of coffee on his legs. He glanced up from the pool of coffee on the floor to you, startled. "What the hell was that for?" 

"You know," you told him, your jaw clenched to the point where you had a hard time getting the words out. 

"Come on, Y/N," Five started, cautiously taking a step towards you. 

You jumped down from the bar, ignoring the pain in your shoulder, and crossed the distance until you were in front of Five. "You left me," you accused him. "We're supposed to be partners and you fucking left me. I was supposed to have your back, but you didn’t even give me that chance." 

"I did it to protect you," he insisted. "You think I wanted her anywhere near you after what she did to you?" 

"Oh, well thank you so much, Five. Really. I'm so grateful you think I can't take care of myself." 

"Is anyone else wondering what's going on?" Luther asked. 

"Shut up, Luther," you and Five snapped at the same time. 

"You know what? I'm not going to wait for you to leave me this time. I'm leaving _you_ ," you told him. You turned to exit the living room, ignoring the others calling after you. 

"I know who causes the apocalypse," Five called. 

You froze near the doorway, taking a deep breath when you knew that Five had just won. He always found a way to get you to do exactly what he wanted. You would probably hate him for it if you didn’t love him so much. 

"It's going to take all of us if we want to stop the apocalypse," Five said. "Dad fucked us all up in one way or another, but that doesn't mean it's who we are. We can still be a team," he added as he moved to stand near you. He reached out to tentatively put a hand on your uninjured shoulder. 

"Some team," you scoffed, not bothering to look at Five or the others. "Luther is delusional enough to think this has something to do with the Moon. Diego won't stop trying to compete with Luther and Allison won't use her power, even if it would mean saving her or one of us. Klaus is suffering from PTSD and Vanya has been alienated once again by all of us." You took a deep, shaky breath. "And then there's us, Five. You keep calling us partners, but you've done a really shitty job of acting like you mean that. Dad fucked us all up, sure, but it's not all on him at this point. We've been fucking ourselves up for years without him." 

"Y/N," Five said, sounding unsure as he lightly squeezed your shoulder. "I know it doesn't make up for it, but I'm sorry for leaving. I did it because I knew they would have the answer we've been searching for all this time. I did it because I knew it would save us all. I know it doesn’t make up for it, but I _am_ sorry. You are my partner and I promise to do a better job of showing you that." 

You didn’t want to cave, but you were so tired of feeling angry and hurt in that moment. You groaned before you turned and quickly pulled him into a hug. Five grunted in shock before he tentatively wrapped his arms around your waist. 

"If you do something like that again, I'll make you regret it," you promised. "I know your weaknesses," you reminded him. 

"Noted," Five said before he pulled away from you. He flashed you a brief, wide grin, as if silently reassuring you everything would be okay. 

"So, who causes the apocalypse?" Allison asked, interrupting the moment between you and Five. 

"Right," Five said before he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and turned to face the others. "I found a name while I was with our old company. It’s the person they’ve ordered Hazel and Cha-Cha to protect. This person causes the apocalypse." 

He held the slip of paper out, waiting for the others to read the name written on it. 

"Okay, but who the hell is Harold Jenkins?" Diego asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to everyone really pissed off with me for how this chapter played out right now. I had to. Sorry!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who leaves kudos, comments, or bookmarks this fic. You all are keeping this going and I'm so grateful you all decided to give this a chance. ♥


	8. Who Tripped the Red Wire Out of the Blue?

You moved to sit back up on the bar top as you listened to Five recount his reunion with The Handler and the Temps Commission. 

You snorted at the thought of Five being relegated to desk duty. "They obviously didn't trust you enough to hand over another briefcase and point you in the direction of someone to kill," you mentioned when he gave you a questioning glance. "They wanted to keep an eye on you." 

"Yeah, well they should have known better. They gave me exactly what I wanted." 

"I'm sorry, but how does one guy cause the apocalypse?" Luther asked, glancing from you to Five in confusion. “How is that even possible?” 

"And you keep talking about this Temps Commission, but who the hell are they?" Allison added, looking just as lost as Luther. 

You shared a glance with Five, knowing that the idea of the Temps Commission and everything they represented was a lot to swallow. Not to mention, it wasn't going to be easy explaining that you killed people for years because of the company. Diego, Klaus, and Vanya had been given months to accept the idea, but Luther and Allison would only have moments to welcome the idea that two of the people they grew up with had been trained as time-traveling assassins. 

However, before you could even formulate a response, the matter was taken out of your hands. 

"It's this stupid company that makes sure the timeline stays intact," Klaus spoke up. 

"And Y/N and Five used to be agents for them," Diego added. 

"They used to work with the two who came here looking for them," Luther chimed in. 

"Does everyone know about this except for me?" Allison asked, glancing around at everyone in bewilderment. 

"I filled in everyone except for Luther after I first got back," you told Allison. "I'm guessing Five told Luther about the Temps Commission when he told him about the apocalypse." 

"And now you know too," Five said. 

Allison shook her head. "I’m still having a little trouble wrapping my mind around it, honestly." 

"The Temps Commission makes sure that whatever is going to happen happens,” Five explained. “They employ agents and send them to different periods of time in order to make sure that there are no glitches in the timeline. Temps Commission agents are taught to kill and torture in order to ensure that events unfold as needed. Y/N and I used to work for them. Hazel and Cha-Cha still do." 

Allison glanced from you to Five and then back again. "You've been torturing and killing people?" 

You shrugged your shoulders. "It was necessary to get us back here. Our boss, The Handler, controlled almost every aspect of our lives. If we took one step out of line or failed to comply with orders, then we got punished." You clenched your jaw at the thought of The Handler's idea of 'punishment.' You shuddered at the memory of Daniel Moore and Sam Young and the other sick individuals you were forced to kill because of The Handler. You had spent months trying to keep them and their twisted dreams as far out of your mind as you could, but they still managed to sneak into your nightmares from time to time. 

Five winced, carefully not looking at you, as if realizing what you were thinking of in that moment. "The Temps Commission intends to let the apocalypse happen. I've done my best to divert Hazel and Cha-Cha, but there will be others. We won't have much time, so we have to act as soon as possible." 

"Well, you had me Gerald Jenkins," Diego said, moving to clap a hand to Five's shoulder. "Let's track him down." 

You moved to slide off the bar top, doing your best to hide how much your shoulder was still bothering you. You knew you would have to get it looked at soon, but you reasoned that if the world really ended in just a few days, then dying of an infection was the least of your worries. 

"It's Harold Jenkins," Five corrected Diego. 

"Whatever," Diego dismissed, rolling his eyes. "We're wasting time. Y/N, are you with us?" He asked, turning to look at you. 

You nodded your head. "Of course," you answered. 

"I think I'm going to stay here and look through Dad's files," Luther mentioned. "I know he must have sent me to the Moon for a reason and I'm going to figure it out." 

Diego snorted. "Way to make this all about you and Dad, big guy. You go ahead and stay here chasing a useless lead. The rest of us are going to go track down this Jenkins guy. Come on, Klaus," he said, gesturing for Klaus to follow him. 

"As lovely as that all sounds," Klaus started as he slowly pushed himself to his feet. "I'm going to have to sit this one out." 

"You're kidding, right?" Diego challenged, frowning at Klaus. 

"Wish I was," Klaus muttered before he brushed past you. He sent you a brief glance over his shoulder as he walked out of the living room. 

You wanted to know what was going on with Klaus. He seemed a bit off and even though you knew he had been through a lot lately, you realized there was something else adding to his troubles. You weren’t sure if you wanted to check on him, though. Even if he didn’t mean to, Klaus had caused you a lot of pain. It wasn’t something you could just brush off and cast aside. It would take time to heal. The only problem was that you weren’t sure you would actually have the time you needed. 

You sighed before you turned towards Diego. "I have to go get something from my room. I'll meet you all outside," you said before you moved to leave the room. You knew that if you were going to try to hunt down the person who was responsible for the end of the world, then you wanted your gun. You would need it if you found Harold Jenkins. 

You grabbed your gun from your nightstand and the knife you stole from Diego before you stepped out of your room. You could hear Klaus' voice carrying from down the hallway and you froze, glancing in the direction of his room. 

You stood there for a few moments before you sighed, pushing yourself towards the sound Klaus' voice. You hesitated outside of his room, wondering what you were doing. You were still hurt. You still didn't understand how Klaus could fall in love with Dave, but you still loved Klaus. You would do anything for him, despite your broken heart, and you couldn't help but think he might need someone. 

"I know that, Ben," you heard Klaus snap. 

You couldn't help but smirk before you knocked lightly on his door. 

"What?" Klaus called, not bothering to even open the door. 

You rolled your eyes before pushing his door open, finding him sitting on the edge of his bed. 

"Y/N. Hey," he said, blinking his eyes rapidly as if trying to make sure you weren't just a hallucination. 

"Hey," you said, the corner of your mouth ticking up in a small smile. "So, are you sure you don't want to go with us? Five is bound to give Diego shit about something at some point. Should be fun," you offered. It was somewhat of an olive branch. You weren't ready to forgive and forget, but you missed Klaus. You were used to spending every day and night with him, so to go from having him almost constantly in your space to separated within a couple of days was proving to be a bit too much for you to handle. 

Klaus winced before he glanced away from you. "I, uh, I can't," he told you. 

"Oh," you mouthed. "Are you okay? You're not looking that great." 

Klaus glanced over his shoulder, and you wondered for a moment if Ben was telling him something. "Fine. I’ll tell her," Klaus hissed. He looked back over to you. "I'm attempting to get sober," he revealed, waving his hands in a ‘ta-da’ gesture. 

"Sober? Really?" You were elated for a moment. You had been after Klaus for months to take better care of himself, but he always brushed you off, stating that it was better than having to deal with countless ghosts all clamoring for his attention. It didn't take you long to realize why he wanted to suddenly pursue sobriety, though. "Because of Dave?" You couldn't help but ask, knowing that you were only digging a deeper emotional hole for yourself. 

Klaus bit his lip before he slowly nodded his head. "Yeah," he sighed. He hesitated for a moment before he continued. "I wanted to see him again. I wanted to tell him I'm sorry." When you didn't say anything, Klaus kept talking. "I was going to bring him back here, you know? I wanted you two to meet. You both were so alike and I just wanted to keep him safe," he told you, his breath hitching as tears welled in his eyes. He bowed his head as he brought his hands up to shield his face. 

"Klaus," you breathed, not sure how to continue. Seeing Klaus so distressed was always going to trigger your overwhelming need to keep him safe and protect him. You found yourself taking a few steps forward, reaching out a hand to cautiously put a hand on his shoulder. You knew Klaus didn't really give his heart away freely. If he found something in Dave to make him stop and take a moment to fall in love, then Dave must have been incredibly special. As far as you knew, Klaus had only been in love with one other person, and that was you. You took a deep breath, managing to shove your hurt and feelings of betrayal down for a moment. "I would have liked to meet him," you confessed. 

Klaus' head snapped up, a look of awe on his face. "Really?" 

You nodded, feeling a tear slip down your cheek. You hadn't even been aware that you were crying. "I can't forgive you. I'm still so pissed off I can barely look at you. But just give me time." 

"Time," Klaus echoed, nodding his head. "We don’t seem to have much of that, do we?” 

“The apocalypse won’t happen,” you promised, hoping you weren’t going to be proven wrong. Your chances of averting the end of the world were better now that Five had secured the name of the person responsible. You just hoped you weren’t too late to stop him. 

Klaus sighed before he reached out to grab your hand. “I've never been the most patient person, but I'm going to try to give you space. I love you," he told you. "I've never stopped." 

You nodded your head, not sure what to say. Your resolve was quickly crumbling and you knew you needed to leave. You had so much to work through where Klaus was concerned, but you still had an apocalypse to divert. 

"Y/N? What's the hold up?" You heard Diego call from just a bit farther down the hallway. 

"I'm coming!" You yelled over your shoulder. When you turned to look at Klaus, his eyes were red-rimmed, but he was smirking up at you. "Don't," you warned, knowing what he was thinking. 

"I missed hearing you say that," he told you with a wink. 

"You're shameless," you told him with a helpless laugh. 

Klaus quirked an eyebrow at you. "Was there ever any doubt?" 

You shook your head, realizing that the exchange resembled the one you had outside of Meritech when you caught Klaus checking out your ass. It was nice to know you could still have those moments without feeling like you were going to fall apart. 

"Everything okay here?" Diego asked from the doorway. 

"What did I tell you about butting in, Diego?" Klaus demanded, shooting Diego an irritated look. 

"Obviously not enough," Diego remarked. "Come on, Y/N. We have to go." 

You nodded your head and turned to follow Diego, letting Klaus’ hand slip out of yours. 

"Wait!" Klaus called. 

You froze in the doorway, waiting for Klaus to speak again. 

"Be careful, okay?" 

You nodded your head. "You too," you whispered, before you took off after Diego. 

You knew you had managed to make a bit of progress with Klaus, but you couldn't deny that you were still devastated. A rush of emotions warred within you every time you looked at Klaus now and you were glad you had been able to take a moment to have a civilized conversation. Otherwise, you didn't think you could have spent even a minute battling feeling crushed and furious and all kinds of heartsick. 

"Everything okay?" Diego asked as he led you outside to his car. 

"Not yet," you answered. "But it will be." 

"And your shoulder? Are you sure you shouldn't sit this one out?" 

"I'm fine," you dismissed. "More important things going on right now." 

Diego sighed, but didn't bother trying to argue with you. 

You sat in the backseat of Diego's car with Five. Diego promised he had a plan, so while he drove, you made Five fill you in on everything he hadn’t yet mentioned that happened at the Temps Commission headquarters. You were aware that Diego and Allison were definitely eavesdropping and likely getting more confused by the moment. 

"So, you really sent them orders to kill each other? Think it worked?" 

Five shook his head. "Probably not, but it was worth a try, right?" 

"And you really blew up The Handler? With a grenade?" 

Five smirked at you, a pleased look on his face. "And I destroyed their cache of briefcases," he admitted, his tone smug with self-satisfaction. 

You nodded your head. "You know what? I forgive you," you told him, helpless against the delighted grin that was beginning to form on your face. "I wish I had been there. I _should_ have been there," you couldn't help but remind him. "We could have burned that whole place to the ground." 

"I did the best I could," Five promised. "If that doesn't buy us time, then nothing will." 

You nodded your head in agreement. “Let’s just hope it was enough.” 

"Why are we here?" You heard Allison ask as Diego pulled up in front of the police station. 

"I'm going to call in a favor," Diego mentioned, shrugging his shoulders. "Wait here," he said before he moved to get out of the car. 

You immediately followed after him, meeting him on the sidewalk. 

He raised an eyebrow at you. "I thought I said to wait in the car." 

"I decided to come with you to see your girlfriend. We are going to see Patch, aren't we?" 

"Yes," Diego bit out, clearly not pleased that you were tagging along. 

"Then let's get this over with," you said, shrugging your shoulders. "Lead the way," you told him as you gestured for him to go forward. 

Diego grumbled something under his breath before he walked up to the front door of the station. He held the door open for you and you couldn't resist smirking at him. 

"So chivalrous," you commented as you brushed past him. 

"Oh, shut up," he grumbled. 

Diego led you towards the front desk. You glanced around the station, taking note of the other officers milling around, as he informed the receptionist he was looking for Patch. It wasn't long before an officer led you and Diego back into the bullpen and to Patch's desk. 

She quirked an eyebrow up at you and Diego when she noticed you both standing there. 

You let Diego take the lead, listening to him quietly explain that he was looking for the file of someone who was threatening his family. 

"You don't work for the force, Diego," Patch pointed out. "I can't just go around handing out police resources." 

"Come on, Eudora," Diego pleaded. "I wouldn't ask unless it was important." 

Patch hesitated for long enough that you decided to speak up. 

"I saved you," you reminded her. "I didn't have to, but I did, and I got shot in the process. If you give us the file, then I'll call it even." 

Patch looked unimpressed with your argument. 

"Okay, how about this? If you give us the file, I will guarantee that Diego will stop crashing your crime scenes." You leaned forward and lowered your voice. "Although, between you and me, I think he only does that to spend time with you." 

Diego groaned before he tugged on your arm, pulling you back. "Will you shut up?" 

Patch cleared her throat, glancing quickly away from Diego, before she sighed. "If I give this to you," she started, looking from Diego to you, "then I don't want to see him at a crime scene for three months." 

"Two months," you bargained. You were going to be lucky if you got Diego to agree to one week, but you weren’t going to mention that. Besides, if the apocalypse still happened, then it wouldn’t really be an issue for very long. 

"Don't I get a say in this?" Diego asked, sounded affronted, but also mildly amused. 

“No," you and Patch answered at the same time. 

Diego smirked before he shook his head. "I really wish you two had never met," he commented. "Come on, Eudora. What do you say?" 

Patch considered Diego for a moment before she nodded her head. "What's the name?" 

While Patch searched for the file, you went outside to let Five and Allison know that Patch had come through for you. You found Five leaning against Diego's car, but you didn't immediately spot Allison. You frowned and glanced around, finally noticing her making a call at a payphone positioned just outside the station. 

You moved to lean against the car beside Five. 

"Did you get it?" He asked, glancing at you out of the corner of his eye. 

"Patch is finding the file now. I decided to give Diego a little time alone with her." 

Five snorted. "Playing matchmaker?" 

You shrugged your uninjured shoulder. "Have you seen him pine? It's a bit pathetic." 

Five opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off by Diego rushing out of the station. 

Both you and Five moved at the same time, straightening up from your slouch against the car. 

"What is it?" Five demanded. 

Allison must have noticed Diego's urgency, because she quickly joined the three of you. "What's going on? Did you get the file?" 

"Yeah. And you're never going to guess who Harold Jenkins really is," Diego said before he flipped open the file, allowing all of you a peek inside. 

You stared down at the picture of Leonard Peabody and felt your breath leave you in a rush. 

"Leonard is Harold?" Allison asked, shock clear in her voice. 

"You know him? Five asked, glancing to Allison. 

"That's Vanya's boyfriend," Diego pointed out. He tapped the address printed just halfway down the page. "We need to get there now." 

You moved to crawl back into the backseat of Diego's car, thinking of the implications of Vanya's boyfriend being the person to kickstart the apocalypse. You wondered if he was using Vanya to get to the rest of the family. Vanya had no idea that the guy she had taken a liking to was going to kill the whole world in just a few days. 

You glanced over to Five to see he was already watching you. You considered the expression on his face before you dipped you head in a nod, agreeing. You were both going to do whatever it took to take Harold Jenkins out before he came anywhere close to hurting Vanya or anyone else. 

You also knew that if he harmed Vanya in any way, then you would have no problem calling on your Temps Commission training to show him why it was the last thing he would ever do. 

Diego pulled the car to a stop just down the street from Leonard's house. 

"So, what's the plan?" Allison asked. 

"You and Five go around back and look for a way in," Diego directed. "Y/N and I will take the front of the house." 

Five eyed you for a moment, as if silently checking you were okay with the plan, before he shook his head. "Sure, whatever," he reluctantly agreed before he used his power to jump from the backseat to the sidewalk. 

"Show off," you scoffed before you climbed out of Diego's car. 

Five and Allison crept around the side of the house while you and Diego walked up the front porch steps. Diego moved to peer into the front windows, searching for a sign that anyone was home. 

"Sounds pretty quiet," you commented. "I don't think there's anyone inside." 

"Alright," Diego nodded as he took a few steps away, considering the windows and front door. 

You sighed and stepped forward, testing out the doorknob on the front door. You turned it and let the door swing open just as Diego launched himself at it, obviously intent on hurling himself through the window on the front door. You watched him fall, aware that Allison and Five were already inside the house and joining you in your contemplation of Diego lying on the floor. 

"The door was unlocked," you pointed out, biting your lip so you wouldn't laugh at Diego. "You really didn't think to try that first?" 

"Oh, you know Diego," Five started. "He doesn't think." 

"Shut the fuck up, Five," Diego groaned from the floor. 

You stepped into the house and closed the front door behind you. "Where should we check first?" 

It was clear that Leonard wasn't there. It made you nervous to think that Vanya was somewhere alone with Leonard and you had no way of really knowing what he was doing to her. You weren't sure how Leonard started the apocalypse, but you knew that he was dangerous. You didn't want him spending another second with Vanya and you intended to track him down as soon as you could. 

You ended up in the attic with the others, sifting through the countless items of Umbrella Academy memorabilia Leonard seemed to be hoarding. 

"So, he's obsessed with us," you pointed out. "Good to know." 

Diego held up a Number Two action figure that had the face burned off. "I'd say he's a super fan gone wrong. Jesus, look at some of this stuff." 

There were articles clipped out of magazines with whole passages highlighted and notes in the margins. There were team pictures with every member's eyes scratched out. There were copies of Allison's movies and flyers from Diego's fights at the Fighting Lion. There were comic books and newspaper clippings scattered all over the table and floor. 

"He's been watching us for a while," Allison said. "What makes us so special to him, though?" 

You heard Five hiss in pain before you turned in time to see him collapse to the floor. You reached his side in an instant, dropping to your knees beside him. Five's eyes were closed and his breathing labored. When you put a hand to his forehead, you found that his skin was clammy. 

"He's bleeding," Allison told you, pointing to the growing patch of blood staining Five's shirt. 

You grimaced before you began to gently lift his shirt, trying to get a look at the damage. "Oh, Five. You idiot," you sighed when you saw the gash in his side. You carefully righted his shirt before you glanced up at Allison and Diego. "We need to get him out of here." 

You helped Diego and Allison get Five out to Diego's car. You opted to stay in the backseat with Five, keeping your focus on him to make sure he didn't have any nightmares. You didn't want to wake him up, since he needed medical attention, and having him suffer through the pain would be cruel. But if his dreams devolved into nightmares, then he could just as easily further injure himself if he moved. 

Once you were back at the Academy and Five was settled on a bed, you started gathering first aid supplies. 

"Do you know what to do with that stuff?" Diego asked, frowning at you as you settled on the edge of the bed beside Five. 

"They taught us the basics when I was with the Temps Commission in case we were injured on the job, but that's about all I know. I’m not sure if I can help him all that much," you reluctantly admitted, hating that Five needed you and you didn’t know what to do. 

"Let me take care of it," you heard from behind you. 

You whirled around, feeling your eyes go wide at the sight of Grace standing in the doorway. 

"Mom," Diego breathed in shock. "You're alive." 

She offered Diego a smile before she swept past him. She ushered you off the bed and out of her way as she set about checking over Five. 

"I'm going to try to call Vanya," Allison said, watching Grace as she worked. "Maybe she's at her apartment." 

Diego nodded his head. "Good idea. If she's not there, then there's another address we can check out. Let’s just hope she’s home, though." 

Allison nodded before she left the room, leaving you and Diego to watch as Grace took care of Five. 

By the time Allison came back and told you Vanya never picked up, Grace had patched up Five's wound. 

"What's the other address?" You asked Diego, turning to look at him. 

"His grandmother's house. As far as I can tell, he inherited it from her when she passed." 

"So, let's go," you said. "Five is out of commission, so it's just going to have to be the three of us." 

"Oh no, Y/N. You're not going anywhere until I get a look at your shoulder," Grace interrupted. 

"Come on, Mom," you said, not wanting to admit that the words came out as a whine. "There's more important stuff going on." 

"I'm sure Diego and Allison will wait for you," she pointed out. She looked at Diego and Allison, a stern expression falling over her face, as if daring them to argue. 

"We can spare a few minutes," Diego conceded, nodding at Grace. 

"If you try to leave without me, I will knock you out," you warned. 

"We won't leave without you," Allison promised. "We're a team, right?" 

"Right," you agreed with a nod. "Alright, Mom, let's get this over with," you sighed, moving to sit down when she directed you to. 

After Grace changed your bandage and berated you for letting it go for so long, you finally left the Academy with Diego and Allison. 

You crawled into the backseat of Diego’s car, feeling exhausted as you listened to Diego and Allison bicker about who was going to drive. You rolled your eyes and tipped your head back, closing your eyes when you heard the car finally start up. 

You took comfort in the fact that you had your gun on you and Diego's knife still tucked into the waistband of your jeans. You weren't sure what was going to happen when you finally caught up to Leonard, but you knew one thing for certain. 

Once you finally had him in your sights again, you were going to kill him. 

You took a deep breath before you sat up, pushing yourself forward until you were pressed against the center console separating Allison's seat from Diego's. 

“So," you started, glancing from one to the other. "Either of you know any fun road trip games?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not thrilled with this chapter, because it gave me hell, but yay for family bonding. I hope it was still enjoyable. I've had a real sleep deprivation issue this week. 😂
> 
> Next chapter will be seeing some canon divergence, but probably not as much as expected. I'm saving that for chapter 10. 😉
> 
> I hope you're all doing well. 💖


	9. A Red Line Danger Zone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Friendly reminder this is the chapter based on episode eight of season one...so, please don't hate me.

Halfway through the trip, you started to get tired of the silence. You felt restless with your worry for Vanya. You wanted nothing more than to think about anything other than what Leonard could be doing to her, so you decided to find a distraction. 

"Hey, Diego?" 

"Yeah?" He was looking out the passenger side window, likely still pouting about the fact he had lost his fight with Allison concerning which one of them was going to drive. 

"Truth or dare?" 

You heard Allison laugh, but she didn't turn to look at you, choosing to keep her focus on the road. "What kind of dare could we possibly do while stuck in the car?" 

"Okay, then," you conceded, as you sat forward in your seat. "Truth or truth?" 

Diego turned a scowl on you. "That doesn't even make sense." 

"Sure it does," you argued. "We just ask questions and try to find out all kinds of embarrassing secrets about each other. It'll be great." 

"Doesn't sound great," Diego grumbled. "Just sounds like an excuse to dig up dirt on me." 

"Well, that too," you agreed. 

Diego was silent for a few moments before he sighed. "Alright, hit me with your best shot." 

The questions started out silly and seemingly unimportant. You asked about favorite colors and foods and most embarrassing crushes. Diego and Allison learned about some of your more interesting tales from the apocalypse, including the time you dared Five to eat a bad Twinkie and how you were forced to get really creative with your idea of food in order to survive. 

You weren't sure what prompted you to help things take a more serious direction. It was your turn to ask a question, so you focused your attention on Allison. 

"Do you have anything you regret?" 

She was silent for a moment before she nodded her head. It took her a few more moments before she spoke. 

"I used my power on Claire," she admitted. 

"Whoa," Diego breathed, glancing quickly to Allison in surprise. 

Allison seemed to be purposefully keeping her focus on the road as she continued. "It's part of the reason why Patrick and I are no longer together." 

You really didn't want to pry, but a part of you couldn't help but think Allison might need to actually talk to someone about what happened. You wondered how long she had been keeping it to herself. "Do you want to talk about it?" 

Allison was silent for long enough that you were afraid you overstepped. You saw her hands tighten around the steering wheel and her shoulders tense before she took a deep, shuddering breath. "Our relationship was never perfect. I loved him and I think..." she trailed off, her brow furrowed. "I think he loved me," she continued, hesitant. "But Claire? Claire is the best thing to ever happen to me. I love being her mom. I wouldn't trade it for anything. But there was one night I was just so exhausted. It had been a long day and all I wanted to do was go to bed. It was my turn to tuck Claire in, so I was doing my best to get her to go to sleep. She kept asking for stories about you guys," she confessed with a helpless smile. "She was always so fascinated with the team and our superhero days. But that night, I just couldn't take another story, so I used my power on her to suggest she go to sleep. Patrick saw me and that was the end of that." 

"Is that why you don't want to use your power?" You asked, knowing you were likely being nosy, but you couldn't help but feel curious. You power was so ingrained in you that you weren't sure if you could willingly give it up. You understood in Klaus' case, but Allison had a power that could literally get her anything she wanted. 

Allison cleared her throat before she nodded her head. "When Patrick filed for a divorce and tried to get custody of Claire, it was a wake-up call. I started realizing a few things about my life," she admitted. "I've been doing my best to be the best mom I can to Claire. She's my whole world. I'm terrified by the thought of not being allowed to be her mom or see her every day." 

"Well, if you need anything from us, we've got your back," Diego told her. "We might be a really shitty team of superheroes, but we are family." 

"Seconded," you added. "I've never met Claire, but I'd love to one day." 

You saw a tear roll down Allison's cheek before she hastily wiped it away. "Thanks, guys," she said with a soft smile on her face. "So, Diego, I believe it's your turn. Same question." 

You weren't sure if Diego would take the question as seriously as Allison had, so you were surprised when he next spoke. 

"In the spirit of baring our souls, I guess I should admit to something. Those two that broke into the Academy? Hazel and Cha-Cha," he clarified. "They weren't the ones who shut Mom off that night. I did." 

"What? Why?" Allison asked, shock laced through her tone. 

You glanced at Diego, stunned by his confession. You never would have guessed he would have done that to Mom. Of anyone in the family, Diego was the closest to her. He had been a strong advocate for not shutting Grace off, so you wondered what had happened to change his mind. 

"I was worried about her," he admitted. "I didn't want to say anything, but I noticed her acting off for a while. That night, she didn't seem like she was there at all. She couldn't remember Dad was dead. She just didn't seem to notice anything was wrong. I was scared she really was glitching, so I shut her down." 

"Why didn’t you just tell us?" Allison asked, shooting a worried glance at Diego. 

You couldn't help but snort at the thought. "And put himself through the hell Luther would have given him? I love the big idiot, but he would have found a way to make it all about him." 

Allison frowned, seemingly thinking it over. "You still should have said something," she insisted. 

"Well, next time I do something like that, I'll call a family meeting," he said with enough levity in his tone that you couldn't initially tell if he was serious or not. "What about you, Y/N? Any regrets? What about working for that company of yours?" 

You didn't really want to talk about the Temps Commission, but you knew that Allison and Diego had just shared their own secrets, so you figured you were due. "I don't regret working for them. It was the only real way for Five and I to escape the apocalypse. If we didn't go with The Handler, then we would have likely died there." 

Diego turned to consider you. You saw his eyes narrow as he watched you. "I'm sensing a 'but' here." 

"But I wish I never let them have that much power over me. I could reconcile the killing if it meant I was going to save everyone in the end. But what they did to me and Five-" you cut yourself off, shaking your head. 

"Hey, you don't have to talk about it," Allison offered. "I can't even imagine everything you've been through." 

"No, it's fine," you reassured. "It's just a lot of bad memories." Diego was still watching you, a concerned look on his face, but you chose to look away from him. "Every time Five and I stepped out of line, they would separate us. And some of the people they sent me after were some of the worst humans imaginable. And they instructed me to use my power on them. I was supposed to get inside their heads." You let out a helplessly bitter chuckle. "That's what I really regret. Because it doesn't matter that I got to kill them. Their thoughts and feelings and emotions are still all echoing around my mind. When I close my eyes at night, it's hell I see, but it's not my own. It belongs to them." You took a deep breath, shaking off the pervasive memories of your former victims. "It's gotten better over the past few months, but they're still all up here," you admitted, tapping a finger to your temple. 

There was a heavy, weighted silence before Diego broke it. 

"Well, shit," he remarked, finally turning in his seat to face forward. "I don't think anyone else is topping that." 

You snorted, shaking your head, before you leaned forward to shove at Diego's shoulder. "Shut the hell up, Diego." 

After, the conversation reverted to lighter topics. By the time you got to the cabin, you were feeling like a weight had been taken off your shoulders. You weren't sure if it was simply spending time with Diego and Allison or confessing something only Klaus really knew about you, but you felt more centered. 

As you were pushing yourself out of the car, you noticed the sky was beginning to brighten. You took a moment to wonder what the others were all up to. Five was likely still passed out, but what had happened to Luther and Klaus the night before? You hoped Klaus was okay, but you had no real way of knowing until you got back to the Academy. 

You thought for a moment of your conversation with him the day before. You weren’t lying when you told him you would have liked to meet Dave. It might have taken you some time, but you knew you could have managed to have some form of civilized conversation with the man who had managed to, in a sense, steal Klaus away from you. While you were here, far away from Klaus, you could admit to yourself that you missed him. You ached without him and you hurt with him now. You didn’t know what you wanted to happen between you, but you hoped you got the time to find it in yourself to forgive him before the timer ran out and the world was destroyed. 

"No car," you heard Diego muse. "They might not be here anymore." 

"Let's take a look around," Allison suggested. "There has to be something here." 

You separated from Diego and Allison, walking a slow perimeter around the cabin. You could tell that someone had been there recently, which made you think Leonard really had taken Vanya to his grandmother's cabin. You didn't see any indication that they were still in the cabin, but it gave you hope that they might still be nearby. 

You joined Allison and Diego back at the car. "Anything?" You asked, moving to lean against the hood of Diego's car. 

"I spotted Vanya's violin case through one of the windows. They've been here," Allison confirmed. 

"And Vanya wouldn't dare go anywhere without her violin. They'll be back," you noted. 

"Are we just going to wait here for them to show up again? For all we know, they won't be back for hours," Diego pointed out. 

"We should check out the town," Allison advised. "We're running out of time and I don't like the idea of Vanya hanging around Leonard for a moment longer than she has to." 

"Agreed," Diego said. "Let's go, then." 

This time, Diego won the battle to earn the right to drive. You still opted to take the backseat, stretching out and resting your head against the window. 

"Shit," Diego groaned when he noticed the line of cars blocking the way to town. "Think this will take long for them to clear up? 

Allison shrugged her shoulders. "There's no telling." 

You closed your eyes and ended up dozing on and off as Diego slowly inched the car forward. 

"There it is," you heard Diego say. 

You opened your eyes and glanced around, catching sight of the cop cars and crime scene tape blocking off a parking lot farther down the road. As the car slowly crept forward, you were able to make out a sign for the Bearskin Tavern. When the car pulled to a stop beside the restaurant, you saw Allison lean forward in her seat, obviously studying something. 

"Wait here," she said before she reached out for the car door handle. 

"Now wait a minute," Diego started, reaching out to try to tug her back, but Allison quickly ducked out of the car. 

He turned to send you a questioning look, as if you somehow knew what she was doing. You shrugged your shoulders, sliding over in the backseat so you could get a better view of Allison. You watched her walk over towards a sign bearing the name of the restaurant before she tugged on something caught on it. 

You leaned forward in your seat, squinting your eyes in an attempt to get a better glimpse of it. "Is that Vanya's?" You were sure you remembered Vanya wearing that scarf before. If her scarf was found at a crime scene, then what did that mean for her? 

You were out of the car before you could even think about it, ignoring Diego calling after you as you strode over to Allison. She was talking to one of the cops when you reached her. You slowly tugged Vanya's scarf from her hold, wanting a moment to study it. You shared a quick, worried look with Allison, before she went back to her conversation. 

You listened to her talk to the cop, Sergeant Cheddar, as she tried to get information about what happened. You heard her spin a tale of landing a role as a small-town cop in a movie before she brought up the idea of shadowing the officer in his investigation. 

As you glanced around, trying not to call too much attention to yourself, you took note of what hadn't been covered up yet. There were broken windows and blood stains. It almost looked as if something had exploded, but you didn’t see any indication about what the possible weapon could have been. 

You took a few steps away from Allison and Sergeant Cheddar, considering the rush of other cops and crime scene investigators. You heard something about casualties and a freak accident before Allison was gently tugging on your elbow. 

"This is my assistant," she told Sergeant Cheddar. "Is it okay if she comes along? I swear I don't know how I get through the day without her." 

Sergeant Cheddar looked like he was going to protest, so you decided to play along. 

"I'm sorry, Miss Hargreeves. I don't know if the studio will appreciate you studying a real small-town cop. They've already hired a team of specialists to prep you for your role." 

Sergeant Cheddar scoffed. "Well, she's not going to learn anything from anyone who isn't a real cop. I've got to get to the hospital to talk to one of the victims, so why don't you two tag along? I'm sure you can learn a lot more from me than your team of specialists." 

You sighed and shook your head, attempting to appear unsure. "I guess I can try to clear it with the studio once we get to the hospital. I’m sure they'll want to give you a credit in the movie." 

You saw Sergeant Cheddar's eyes light up at the idea and you knew that you had successfully appealed to his ego. 

“You two can follow me to the hospital,” he offered. “Try to keep up,” he added before he turned and walked over to his car. 

"So, I'm your assistant now?" You couldn't help but ask Allison as you walked back towards the car with her. 

Allison shrugged her shoulders. "It was all I could think of at the time to explain your presence." 

"Yeah? Well, how the hell are you going to explain Diego?" 

"New co-star? Personal bodyguard? I'll think of something," she dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Let's just hope we find Vanya," she told you as you reached the car. 

Allison instructed Diego to follow after Sergeant Cheddar's car once you were both back inside. He raised an eyebrow in question, but didn't bother to actually voice any concerns he might have had. 

You weren't sure if Allison's plan would work, but once she designated Diego as her personal security, Sergeant Cheddar more or less ignored you and Diego. He seemed entirely concerned with looking like a bonafide cop in front of Allison, so while the focus was off of you, you made sure to keep an eye out for anything that could lead you to Vanya and Leonard. 

Sergeant Cheddar explained he was there to talk to one of the men involved in the altercation at Bearskin Tavern the previous night. Two other men were killed and Mr. Luntz seemed to be the only survivor. 

While Diego was relegated to his fake personal security duties and had to wait outside of Mr. Luntz's room, you were allowed to go inside with Allison and Sergeant Cheddar. 

You listened to Mr. Luntz's tale, torn between feeling bewilderment and indignation. You weren't sure why Leonard would have paid three guys to attack him, unless he was trying to elicit some form of response. Did he want to look like a victim in front of Vanya? Was he trying to get Vanya to let her guard down? What could he possibly gain by getting the shit beat out of him? 

And if Leonard didn't kill the other two men, then did Vanya? You couldn't fathom the idea of Vanya killing someone. She was always such a sweet, incredibly caring person. Just the thought of Vanya even contemplating taking someone's life seemed ludicrous to you. 

When Mr. Luntz got to the part of his story where he admitted they harassed Vanya, you felt your hands curl into fists. You had to quell the urge to use your power on the man. You knew it wouldn't end up well for him if you gave into it. 

You shared a quick look with Allison, knowing she was just as upset with the man's admission. You turned back to Mr. Luntz, reaching out with your power to try to get a glimpse at his dreams stored in his subconscious mind, but you didn't catch anything useful. 

"It was crazy," Mr. Luntz was saying when you tuned back into his words. "I don't even know what really happened. One moment we were beating up the little guy and the next we all went flying. Next thing I know, I'm wakin' up here and my friends are dead." 

"Is there any information you can give us about who killed your friends?" Sargeant Cheddar asked. 

"Was the man who paid you to beat him about this tall?" Allison added, holding a hand out to about Leonard's height. "Did he have brown hair? Was he a bit shy or easily intimidated?" 

"Did he give off any burgeoning supervillain vibes?" You questioned, knowing that as soon as Allison gave any indication that she might have known more than she let on, Sergeant Cheddar would realize it had all been a ruse. 

"Now, hold on," Sergeant Cheddar started, holding a hand out towards Allison. "Was the movie role story all a lie?" 

"It doesn't matter," you tried to argue. "The man who hired him is going to get a lot more people killed over the next few days if we don't stop him." 

"You two need to leave," Sergeant Cheddar tried. "Or you need to clue me in to what the hell is going on here." 

"The guy who did that to him has our sister," Allison explained. She reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out the back cover of Vanya's memoir. She held it up so the author photo was showing. "Do you recognize her? Can you please tell us if she was there? We just want to find her and make sure she's safe," Allison insisted. 

Just as Mr. Luntz opened his mouth to answer, a nurse interrupted. "Your questions are going to have to wait," she said. "We need to take Mr. Luntz in for more tests. You can ask him whatever you want once he's done." 

"Just give us a couple of minutes," you tried to argue. 

"It won't take long," the nurse claimed. 

"Of course. We can wait until he’s done," Sergeant Cheddar said. He started trying to usher you and Allison out of the room. 

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," you groaned. You didn't want to wait for answers. Any time you wasted at the hospital was giving Leonard ample opportunity to hurt Vanya. 

"What? What happened?" Diego asked, catching your elbow as you walked out of the room. 

You noticed Sergeant Cheddar lead Allison a little farther down the hallway. You kept an eye on them as you filled Diego in on what happened in the room. 

"So, what? Leonard staged the fight and two guys got killed? Do you think it was Leonard?" 

"I'm not sure," you answered. "There's something off about all of this, but there's too many unknowns to figure out what's wrong. I have a feeling Vanya is more involved than we previously thought, though." 

"You're not suggesting Vanya killed those guys? She wouldn't hurt anyone," Diego countered. 

"You think I don't realize that? Maybe it was self-defense," you offered. "Maybe she's scared right now. Leonard got the shit kicked out of him, so I highly doubt he was able to take out two guys by himself. We don’t have the full picture. I’m not sure if we ever did." 

"We have to find Vanya," Diego pointed out. "We need to figure out what's going on." 

It was then you noticed a nurse talking to Sergeant Cheddar. There was a scowl on his face as he listened to whatever she had to say. Allison started talking and you noticed her pull out her photo of Vanya. 

"We need to go back to the cabin," Diego said with a sigh. "They could have gone back there." 

"Guys," Allison cut in as she hurried over to the two of you. "Something's wrong." 

"What's going on?" You asked, turning your attention to Allison. 

"Mr. Luntz disappeared after he was taken for more x-rays. The nurse confirmed for me that Vanya was here with Leonard. That must have been why we missed them at the cabin this morning. They were here." 

"Alright, then let's go," Diego said. "What are we waiting for?" 

"Someone should stay here," Allison suggested. "If they find Mr. Luntz, then he might have more information we can use." 

"And someone needs to call the Academy and let the others know what's going on," you added. You met Allison's eyes before both of you turned to look at Diego. 

Diego immediately shook his head. "No. I'm not staying behind while you two go off and put yourselves in danger." 

"If Vanya is there, then we need to make her understand that Leonard is dangerous. If she's going to listen to any of us, it's going to be me or Allison," you reasoned. "I love you, Diego, but you have a real bad habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time." 

"We'll be okay," Allison promised. "Y/N can always make Leonard fall asleep if he's there. And Vanya won't be a problem. We've got this, Diego." 

Diego glanced from you to Allison and then back again. After a few moments, he rolled his eyes. "Just go. I'll call the others and get them here. I don't like this, but I'm trusting you," he said. "Get Vanya, get her the hell away from Leonard, and then come back for me. Once we're all together, then we can figure out what to do about Leonard. Got it?" Diego asked as he handed over his car keys to Allison. 

"Got it," you confirmed. 

"Let's go," Allison told you, hardly waiting for you to follow after her before she was taking off down the hallway. 

"Are you worried?" You couldn't help but ask her. 

"A little," Allison confessed. "But we've got each other," she told you. "We can get through this together." 

"Right," you agreed. "Let's go get our sister." 

When you got back to the cabin, darkness was starting to creep in. The lights in the cabin were on, which you hoped meant the trip back hadn’t been in vain. "At least someone is here," Allison muttered as she moved to grab the file on Harold Jenkins from where it had been resting on the dashboard. 

As you got out of the car, you noticed the wind blowing strong enough to make the trees sway. You could hear the windchimes hanging on the porch frantically making music, but when you looked to the sky, it didn't look like a storm was brewing. "This doesn't feel natural," you commented. "Does it seem weird to you? Like it's too powerful?" 

"It's probably nothing," Allison dismissed. "Let's go see if Vanya is here." 

You led Allison up to the cabin, taking solace in the fact that you had your gun and Diego's knife with you. If you got the opportunity, you were going to kill Leonard. You knew it would upset Vanya, but you reasoned you were just trying to protect her. You were trying to save the world. She would forgive you once she realized what a terrible guy Leonard really was. 

When you stepped into the cabin and found Vanya playing her violin, you breathed out a sigh of relief. 

Vanya stopped playing and turned to look at you and Allison. "What are you two doing here?" 

"What's causing this?" Allison asked, glancing around the room in awe. 

It was then you noticed papers fluttering on the table near Vanya and the curtains covering the windows were slowly waving. The chandelier over Vanya was also gently swaying. Allison had shut the door behind her, the windows were closed, and the ceiling fan was still. You didn’t see anything that could cause everything to move by itself, as if rocked by unseen force. 

"It's me. It's my power," Vanya confessed. She fixed you and Allison with a look, as if she assumed you were going to argue with her. As if she thought you wouldn't believe her. 

"You have a power? Vanya, that's amazing," Allison said. You saw her take a few cautious steps towards Vanya. 

"You really think so?" Vanya asked. She was holding tightly to the neck of her violin, the bow still held up in her grasp. She looked as if she thought you were about to fight her. You weren't sure why she looked so defensive, but you wanted to try to put her at ease. 

"Vanya, I'm so happy for you," you told her. You stepped closer to her, being careful to not get too close, since you didn't want her to feel like you and Allison were trying to corner her. "Why didn't you say anything sooner? We could have celebrated." 

"What would have been the point? So I could suddenly score an invite to the family meetings? Because I would finally matter? I would finally mean something compared to all of you?" 

"Vanya, what are you talking about? We love you," you told her. "I've done nothing but try to include you in everything since I got back." 

"You _pitied_ me," she snapped. "You never really cared about me." 

You shook your head, clenching your jaw against the outrage you felt at her words. "This is Leonard talking. It's not you, Vanya. He's gotten inside your head." 

"Funny, I thought that was your power. Besides, what do you know about Leonard? You just met him yesterday," Vanya pointed out, scowling at you. 

"I think I know a hell of a lot more than you know about him," you told her. 

Allison was holding onto the file about Leonard with both hands as she carefully closed the distance between her and Vanya. "You might want to sit down for this," she warned Vanya. “It’s going to be a lot for you to take in.” 

You watched Vanya carefully set her violin down before she took a seat in the armchair closest to her. Allison held the file out to her as she moved to crouch down in front of Vanya. You listened to her explain that Leonard was actually named Harold Jenkins. You considered the both of them as Allison did her best to brief Vanya on everything that had been discovered about Leonard. 

Vanya had a look of disbelief on her face. You knew she didn't want to believe Allison. You noticed she was tightly holding onto her bow still, her hand shaking. 

"Leonard isn't capable of this," Vanya dismissed. "He wouldn't do this." 

"He _would_ ," you argued. "He killed his dad and he's going to keep killing. He's the one who ends the world, Vanya." 

"Leonard?" Vanya sputtered, doubt clear in her tone. "That can't be right." 

"You have to come with us," Allison insisted. "He's a danger to you and all of us. It's not safe for you here." 

"I don't believe it," Vanya said before she shook her head. "I _can't_ believe it. He's been helping me. He's the one who encouraged me to discover my power. He's helping me train." 

"If you won't believe a police report, then Vanya, please believe _me_ ," you insisted. "I wouldn't lie to you." 

"This doesn't make sense. You don't know him," Vanya said. 

"Vanya, neither do you," you pointed out. 

Allison shot you a sharp look, as if she thought it was the wrong thing to say. You could tell Vanya was beginning to panic. Her breaths were shuddery and her hands were still shaking. 

Allison tried to sooth Vanya, but you weren't sure if it was working. Vanya's powers were still causing everything in the room to move. You noticed a few papers shuffle off the table as Vanya got more and more worked up. 

"Allison," you warned. You wanted her to stop talking for a moment. You needed to try something else to get Vanya to listen. You were halfway tempted to make her fall asleep and haul her out to the car, but you knew that wouldn't help her trust you. Leonard had somehow managed to worm his way into Vanya's brain and plant seeds of doubt. You spent months trying to bring Vanya closer into the fold and Leonard had destroyed most of your progress within a few days. 

You felt guilty in that moment. You should have noticed his influence on her. You felt as if you had let Vanya down. 

"I remember now," you heard Allison say. 

"Remember what?" You asked, not liking the shell-shocked expression on Allison's face. 

"Dad asked me to when we were kids," she said. "I didn't understand at the time, but he asked me to use my power on you, Vanya." 

You felt stunned as you listened to Allison recount what you hoped was the one and only time Reginald Hargreeves used Allison’s power against one of the family. You despised the man, but as you heard Allison admit to following your dad's order to make Vanya forget about her power, you felt an incredible sense of resentment towards him as well. 

Vanya had pushed herself up out of the armchair. You watched her storm towards the door, as if she was thinking about leaving. Instead, she turned to consider you and Allison. "You two need to leave," she spat. "I don't want you here anymore." 

"Vanya," Allison started, finally moving to stand. "We came here for you." 

"You were jealous, weren't you? I was more powerful and you just couldn't stand it. You didn't want me stealing your spotlight." 

"That's not true and you know it," you said, moving a bit closer to Allison. 

Vanya's power seemed to only be growing in strength. You didn't know what she was fully capable of, but you didn't like the way she seemed to be tensing with each moment. Whether she realized it or not, she was getting ready to strike. 

"We love you, Vanya," Allison cried. "We would never do anything to hurt you." 

"You already have! You're responsible for all of those years spent on the sidelines. Do you know what that did to me? I was always excluded. I was never part of the family. If you really cared about me, then you wouldn’t have done that. You wouldn’t have used your power on me and none of you would have treated me like I was nothing. Face it," she snapped. “You’ve never cared about me.” 

"That's bullshit," you argued. "You know what I went through to get back here to save you. To save all of you. I did that out of love, Vanya. I would do anything for you. Allison would too. You have to know that. Don't blame her for what Dad did to you. This is on him. We were only children, Vanya," you pointed out. 

"Allison kept this from me! She kept my power from me, because she didn't want me to be part of the family. She didn't want me to be special." 

You could hear the pain in Vanya's voice and you wanted nothing more than to go to her. You knew it wouldn't be a good idea, though. You were worried for the first time in your life that Vanya actually would hurt you. You understood her rage, but you knew it was misdirected. You wanted nothing more than to make her see that. 

"I've always known you were special," Allison said. "It doesn't have to be this way. We can start over now. We can all be a real team. A family." 

"You kept this from me and I've spent all these years thinking I was never good enough! I hated myself for so long because I wasn't like the rest of you." Vanya shook her head, refusing to look at you or Allison. "All I've ever wanted was to be one of you." 

"You are! You're one of us, Vanya. You always have been," you told her. 

"No," she snarled. "If that were true, then I would have been going with you on missions. I would have been at the family meetings and team debriefs. I was nothing more than a mascot to you all!" 

With each word, it seemed as if Vanya's power was only intensifying. You were still a couple of feet away from Allison and you warred between protecting her or using your power on Vanya. You knew Vanya was finally letting out all of her pent-up rage and pain, and while you didn't want to lose her trust, you started to worry she was going to hurt herself or Allison. 

"Vanya, are you okay? Everything is going crazy," Allison pointed out as she looked worriedly around the room. 

The lightbulbs in the chandelier over your heads exploded, raining bits of glass down on you and Allison. You flinched, turning a look of surprise on Vanya. 

"You need to go! Leave! I don't want you here anymore!" Vanya shouted, her hair whipping violently as her power grew. 

"Don't make me do this," Allison pleaded. "I don't want to do this." 

You glanced at Allison to see a tear start rolling down her cheek. 

"Just go!" Vanya yelled as she gestured to the door with the bow still clutched tightly in her hand. 

Allison shook her head, tears flowing more freely. "I heard a rumor," she started, her voice choked. 

"Allison, don't!" You warned, before everything went haywire. 

You only had a moment to catch Vanya's scream of outrage before she slashed her bow through the air. An overwhelmingly bright line of energy snapped out from her bow, reaching towards Allison. 

You weren't sure if you were quick enough. You saw your force field raise to shield Allison just as Vanya's power reached her. You saw Allison stumble back just as you felt Vanya's power slam into your force field. You felt like it was resonating inside of you as you were forced back, black spots crowding your vision. You blinked to try to clear them, but there was a ringing in your ears that made it hard to concentrate. You weren't even aware that you had fallen to the floor. 

You felt dazed as you tried to focus on what was going on. You couldn't stop your eyes from rolling around in their sockets, as if you were constantly fighting the urge to pass out. 

You heard Vanya screaming and crying and begging for Allison to wake up. You caught a glimpse of her tear-stained face and blood-soaked hands. You heard a few snatches of Leonard's voice and you automatically tried to reach out with your power, but it was like trying to keep your grasp on a handful of sand. It kept slipping away from you the harder you tried to hold on. 

Your power managed to slip into Leonard’s subconscious and access his dreams in time to catch an image of Leonard staring down at the pages of a book you recognized before everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was watching a lot of horror movies when I wrote this chapter and Ginger Snaps 2 was one of them. So, I sort of borrowed one of Ghost's lines from the movie which is: 'When you close your eyes, is it hell you see?' 
> 
> Also, if you've read my Walking Dead fic, you'll recognize truth or truth. It's a real game I like to play with people when I'm getting to know them or when my friends and I are trying to learn each other's ridiculous secrets. It's played a bit differently than it is here, but it's basically the same idea. I decided to incorporate it into this for my own purpose. And yes, it is a ridiculous name. 
> 
> I also borrowed some inspiration from my fic Somebody to Love for part of this, so if it seems a bit familiar and you've read that fic, that's likely why. I tried to make it all fresh and different enough, though.


	10. Point of No Return Comin' Real Close

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I was writing Somebody to Love and came up with this idea, I originally thought of it as the 'Inception power fic.' So, I had to use reader's power for a bit of an Inception vibe here. Reader kind of drifts into a morally grey area in this one, so be warned. There are also allusions to child abuse that Leonard suffered in this chapter.

Darkness was all you truly knew for a while. Awareness came back to you in bits and pieces. You heard snatches of voices and felt someone’s hands cupping your face. Someone was calling your name and begging you to wake up. You didn’t understand at first. You were just trying to sleep. Why would you possibly want to wake up when it felt like your head was going to split the second you opened your eyes? 

“Y/N, come on,” you heard someone plead. “Don’t do this to me.” 

The person holding onto you jostled your injured shoulder. You rocked back at the pain and raised your arms in an attempt to push away the person in front of you. You heard them grunt before they broke their hold on you. 

When you finally managed to open your eyes, it was to see Klaus crouched down in front of you. You startled back, groaning when pain spiked in your head. 

"Oh, thank God," Klaus breathed. He reached out to cup your face in his hands, checking you over. "Who I've now met, by the way. She was quite lovely if a bit rude." 

"What?" You weren't really sure what was going on or what Klaus was talking about. You couldn’t remember how you got there or why your whole body seemed to ache. 

It wasn’t until you noticed Luther and Five hovering over Allison that everything came back together for you. 

"Fuck," you hissed, pushing yourself quickly to your feet. You swayed, stumbling back a step, but Klaus was there to catch you. 

"Take it easy," he cautioned. "Something knocked you out cold.” His hands reached out to hold onto your biceps, helping you stay upright. "Are you okay?" 

You quickly nodded your head before you managed to take a few faltering steps towards Allison. You could see blood staining her shirt from a cut on her neck and from where she must have hit her head on the floor when she fell. 

Luther glanced up at you from where he was kneeling on the floor beside her. Tears were pooling in his eyes, but his jaw was clenched in anger. "What the hell happened here?" 

You felt Klaus squeeze your arm, as if trying to silently give you support. 

"It was Vanya," you quietly admitted. 

There was a deep cut spanning half of Allison’s throat. You figured your force field had managed to take some of the hit, but there was still a lot of blood. Five moved to press a towel he must have stolen from the bathroom to Allison's neck. 

You weren’t sure how long you had been unconscious. What if Allison lost too much blood? What if the hit to her head proved to be too serious? You felt shaky as you managed to kneel beside Luther, reaching out for Allison’s wrist to feel for a pulse. 

"Vanya?" Five asked, incredulity in his tone. "You've got to be kidding me," he scoffed. “Vanya couldn’t do this. She _wouldn’t_.” 

"She has a power, Five. I don't know much about it, but she's strong. Leonard got into her head. Made her think she was all alone. He poisoned her against us. Allison and I tried to tell her about Leonard, but she wouldn’t believe us." 

"We need to get Allison back to the Academy," Luther noted as he moved to gently pull her into his arms. “We don’t know how much blood she’s lost.” 

"We should take her to the hospital," you insisted. “There’s one not too far from here.” 

"They'll just ask too many questions and we don't have that kind of time with the apocalypse on the horizon," Five said. "Besides, do you really think this will stay out of the papers? If one person at that hospital even mentions Allison checked in, then there will be reporters swarming all over the place. No, Grace can help her. We need to get her to Grace." 

You thought it was better to get Allison help first and then worry about any consequences later, but Luther was already moving to brush past you. 

"Luther," you called as he moved to step out of the cabin with Allison in his hold. You managed to make it over to him and reached into Allison's pocket to grab Diego's car keys. "Drive fast," you told him before you turned back towards Five and Klaus. 

"You're not coming with us?" Five asked, seemingly dismayed by the idea. "You need to get looked at too," he said, reaching out to brush his fingers over your temple. “It looks like you hit your head,” he told you when he showed you that his fingertips were now coated in your blood. 

"I'm fine," you dismissed with a slow shake of your head. Your head was killing you, but it couldn’t take precedence over everything else. "Besides, Diego isn't here," you pointed out. "I'm guessing you guys didn't stop to pick him up from the hospital. He's probably pissed off and worried right now. I'll take his car and get him. You three need to hurry and get Allison back to the Academy so Grace can take a look at her." 

"There’s no way I’m leaving you alone. I'm going with you," Klaus argued. 

You shook your head, biting your lip to keep from saying something you shouldn't. Seeing Allison covered in blood and unconscious had done more to wake you up than anything else would have. You were furious. You were hurt and doing your best to keep breathing through the anger that threatened to overtake you. You needed a few moments to yourself to think everything through and being forced to sit through an awkward, silent car ride with Klaus wouldn't help you. Even if you didn't say anything, all of your focus would be on him. 

"I need you to go with them, Klaus," you told him, reaching out to take his hand. "Just do this for me, okay?" 

Klaus considered you for a few moments, seemingly looking for something, before he sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. He nodded his head. "Then I'll see you back at the Academy. But promise me you’ll come find me when you get back.” 

You nodded your head, offering him a weak, forced smile. With everything going on, you weren’t really sure if you had it in you to even talk to Klaus, but you were willing to find out. 

"Come on, Klaus!" Five yelled from the doorway. 

Klaus sighed before he turned to leave. “Just so you know,” he started as he reached the doorway. “I don’t want to leave you. But you’ve asked me to, so I’m going to respect that.” He stopped at the threshold, his fingers idly tapping the doorframe. “Just please don’t do anything reckless. I don’t want you to get hurt again.” He glanced once over his shoulder at you on his way out the door before he disappeared from your sight. 

You waited until you heard the sound of car doors slamming before you created a force field to surround you. You sank down to the floor, your fingers carding through your hair, as you tried to get your bearings. For a few moments, you let the force field shield you from the rest of the world. 

You hadn't felt the need to do this since your days working with the Temps Commission. But now, when it felt like your world really was crashing down around you, you couldn't figure out how to save yourself or your loved ones. You knew you needed to make a plan and to do that, you had to shut out everything around you for a moment to get your thoughts in order. 

You reflected over everything that happened. You remembered Vanya's rage and fear. She had sounded like she was in an incredible amount of pain. For a few moments, she had resembled someone completely different from the Vanya you saw just days before. 

If you had known that Leonard was going to prove to be such a parasite, then you would have taken care of the problem much sooner. He had twisted her thoughts to the point where she turned against her own family. You knew from the few fragments of memory you possessed before you passed out that Vanya hadn't meant to hurt Allison. She lashed out and without having full control of her powers, the results were disastrous. 

You took a deep, shuddering breath, before your thoughts went to the flash of Leonard's subconscious mind you had been able to glimpse before passing out. 

"The journal," you whispered. Leonard had your dad's journal. You didn't know how or why it was in his possession, but Leonard must have found out about Vanya's powers from the journal. You remembered Allison recalling your dad asking her to use her power of influence on Vanya. Even if the man had made Vanya forget about her power, Reginald Hargreeves obviously hadn't. 

Leonard must have read all of your dad’s notes about Vanya. You assumed he had been manipulating her all this time in order to use her power for himself. But to what end? What was the real point of any of it? Leonard caused the end of the world, but he couldn’t do it all by himself. Luther had been right to suspect there was someone else involved. 

You remembered the crime scene at the Bearskin Tavern. You had thought at the time it looked remarkably as if some kind of explosive device had been set off. You assumed that you didn’t find any evidence of a bomb, because it was Vanya. Vanya must have lashed out with her power and killed those men. _Vanya_ was the bomb. 

You realized that Leonard was simply the person who would set her off. Vanya, whether she wanted to or not, was going to destroy the world. 

As you continued taking deep breaths, keeping yourself calm, you made a list of what you needed to do. You had to get Diego, take him back to the Academy, track down Leonard, and find the journal. Once you found the journal, you could figure out what you would do from there. The journal was the key to unlocking Vanya and without it, you would be flying blind. You needed to understand her if you were going to help her. 

"Okay," you breathed. "Let's do this," you told yourself, knowing this was likely the last moment you would get to yourself before you set your plan in motion. You told yourself you needed to stay calm and do what was needed. You were quickly running out of time and if you didn't play this right, then everyone would die. 

You dropped the force field and forced yourself to your feet. You took a moment to survey the aftermath of chaos in the room before you stepped outside. You walked out to Diego's car, gladly leaving the cabin behind. 

On the drive to the hospital, you kept repeating your list in your head over and over. You had no room for errors here. Time was ticking down to the apocalypse and if you screwed up now, then it could mean the end of everything. 

By the time you were pulling up to the waiting room doors, you felt a bit calmer and more centered. Diego was pacing near the doors, so you honked the horn to gain his attention. 

You saw him whirl around before he stormed through the doors and towards the car. He yanked the passenger seat door open and slid inside. You barely gave him the time to fasten his seatbelt before you were peeling out of the hospital parking lot. 

"What the fuck happened? Why didn't you two come back with Vanya? Also, why the fuck are you bleeding?” He reached out to brush his fingers near the cut on your temple. “Where’s Allison and the others?” Diego asked, his voice going soft and concerned. 

You shook your head, not really wanting to talk, but knowing you owed Diego an explanation. 

You explained everything to Diego as you sped back to the Academy. You didn't care that you were going too fast. You were still upset and there was one person who deserved everything you were going to dole out. 

"You two were reckless,” Diego admonished. “The moment you two realized she had a power was when you should have come to get me." 

"It wouldn't have mattered," you countered. "We didn't need more people to get through to Vanya. We needed to understand her." 

Diego didn't say anything, but you caught him shaking his head out of the corner of your eye. "Do you think Allison will be okay? How bad was it?" 

"Bad. And she has to be okay," you answered, knowing it was all you could offer at the moment. If they got her back to the Academy in time and Grace was able to take care of her, then you knew everything would be alright. It had to be. You wouldn't accept anything else. 

When you pulled up to the Academy, Diego rushed to get out of the car. When he realized you weren't following, he turned to look at you through the passenger side window. 

"Come on, Y/N," he coaxed. "Let's go check on Allison." 

You kept your gaze forward, not bothering to look at Diego. "You go make sure she's okay. There's something I have to do first," you told him before you took off, ignoring the sound of Diego shouting after you. 

You drove to Leonard's home. You knew that it was likely the place he would have taken Vanya. As far as he was concerned, none of you were aware of where he lived. 

You were glad it was still dark out as you picked the lock on the front door. You figured the chances of someone spotting you were low, but you still moved quickly to try to avoid detection. Once you had the door unlocked, you slipped into the living room as quietly as you could. 

You saw a messenger bag you assumed was Leonard’s sitting on the table and moved to rifle through it. You found the journal hidden among the items in the bag and pulled it out. You stared down at the cover, brushing your fingers lightly over the initials engraved there. 

You took a deep breath and reached out with your powers. There were two minds in the home you could sense, but at the moment, you only needed one of them. You ensured Vanya went into a deep sleep while you made Leonard have nightmares horrifying enough that he was guaranteed to wake up. 

You didn't have to wait long for him to show up. 

You were sitting on the couch when he stumbled into the room, muttering to himself as he moved towards the kitchen. You took note of the bandage covering one of his eyes, realizing that he must have lost it in the fight with Mr. Luntz and his friends. You wondered if Leonard was responsible for Mr. Luntz's disappearance. He seemed to be responsible for a lot of things. He was the person you and Five had been wondering about for decades and now he was finally here in front of you. 

"Hello, Leonard," you called out, gaining his attention. "Or should I call you Harold?" 

"You're Number Eight," Leonard blurted, seemingly terrified at the sight of you. But you knew better. It was all an act. Everything about Harold Jenkins had been an act since the moment he latched onto Vanya. "Y/N," he added. "Vanya's sister. What are you doing here? I thought you were dead." 

"I came here for you, Leonard. I came here because you had something I wanted. My dad's journal,” you clarified. 

"How do you know that?" 

You tapped your temple, smirking at him. "I've seen it." 

"Of course," Leonard scoffed. "The _Nightmare_. All you can do is give people bad dreams. I guess that’s how you got me out here. But why should I be scared of you if I’m already awake?" 

"Oh, Leonard," you sighed, turning a wide, manic grin on him. It was a grin you'd seen on Five's face every time he knew he was about to get the best of someone. It was one you wore now, because before you was the man who had taken sweet Vanya and twisted her. He turned her against her family. He had made her feel like she was nothing, hollowed her out, and then poured everything he wanted her to be into her. "I can do so much more." 

You barely had to pull on your power to access Leonard's worst nightmares. It was his father screaming at him. His father throwing a beer bottle at his head. His father cutting him down in every way possible. It was his loneliness and fear. It was every weakness he had stored in his subconscious coming to life in front of him. You watched Leonard’s eyes go wide in fear, cowering away from your projection of his father. 

"You're nothing special," Leonard's father spat as he advanced on him. "You'll never be anything special. You’re a worthless little waste of space. It should have been you who died. Your mother died for nothing," he hissed, towering over Leonard when he fell to the floor. 

"You know, if you had just left Vanya alone, then this wouldn't have to happen," you told Leonard as you pulled your gun out of the waistband of your pants. You knew the journal was a big factor in whether or not everyone survived the end of the world, but it wasn't the only reason you were here. Leonard had planned on turning Vanya into a weapon and you were going to make sure he paid for it. "But you just couldn't leave Vanya alone, could you?" 

"No, no, _no_ ," Leonard screamed as he raised his hands to cover his ears, his eyes never leaving the sight of his father. "You're dead! I killed you! You can't hurt me anymore!" 

You watched Leonard for a few more moments, torturing him with the memory of his father, before you brought your gun up and aimed it at him. "You should have left us all alone. You fucked with the wrong family," you told him before you pulled the trigger. 

You were quick to reach out with your power, taking hold of all of the sleeping minds in the houses surrounding Leonard's home in order to ensure no one woke up. It wouldn’t help your cause if someone heard the gunshot and called the police. While you were now acquainted with Patch and Diego still had friends on the force, you knew there was no way in hell you would get away with murder. 

You turned away from Leonard’s body and reached out to turn on the lamp beside the couch. You settled down on the couch again before you grabbed your dad's journal and flipped it open, turning to the pages that discussed Vanya. 

You took the time to read your father's notes about Vanya. You felt outrage on her behalf for what he put her through. He drugged her and made her feel inferior just because he didn't know how to train her. You read about the dead nannies and how your father feared Vanya was too powerful and destructive to ever truly become a force for good in the world. 

You took a moment to ponder your father’s notes before you shut the journal and stood from the couch. Dawn was fast approaching and while you wanted to get back to the Academy, you knew your plan required you to stay at Leonard’s home for just a while longer. 

You walked back to Leonard's bedroom and stopped in the doorway, contemplating Vanya lying on his bed. She looked so small and unassuming that a part of you still couldn’t believe that Vanya was capable of any kind of destruction. 

You reached out with your power, managing to take control of her dream. You didn't feel great about using your power on her after learning what your father had Allison do to her when you were children, but it was necessary. You needed Vanya to play her part. You couldn’t take any chances with the fate of the world at stake. 

You slipped into her subconscious mind, planting the idea that she needed to seek solace with her family. You needed her to go to the living room to check on Leonard and then make her way to the Academy upon her discovery. 

The plan wouldn’t work unless Vanya came home. 

Once you were sure the idea took root, you extricated yourself from her dreams. You watched her for one more moment before you turned and went back into the living room. 

You found a pen and piece of paper and crafted a fake suicide note for Leonard. It was cruel, but necessary, that Vanya be the one to find his goodbye. You needed for her to understand everything Leonard had done to her in a short period of time. You had to make her see that Leonard Peabody was never any good for her. 

You used everything you learned about Leonard from taking a peek inside his dreams and mind in order to get across the information Vanya needed to know. You hated that you couldn’t force a confession from Leonard for Vanya to witness before killing him, but you didn’t have the time. 

You didn't relish the idea of manipulating her, but you needed to get her back to the Academy. There were so many pieces to set in motion that you worried it wouldn't all come together as you wanted. You knew, though, that you were going to have to take a leap of faith. 

After, you dragged Leonard's body out of sight, not wanting Vanya to find it. You used a rug to cover the worst of the bloodstains on the floor and hid as much evidence as you could. When you had the time, you would come back and dispose of the body properly. For now, you needed to get back to the Academy and check on Allison and the others before moving forward with your plan. 

You crept out to Diego's car, still checking on the sleeping minds within your reach to make sure you weren't being watched, before you slid into the driver's seat. You placed the journal on the passenger seat beside you, taking a moment to stare at it, before you shook your head. 

As you drove away from Leonard's house, you let your control on everyone slip. They would all wake up to realize they just had the deepest, likely best sleep of their lives. Some of them would notice they slept past their alarm and others would wonder why they were waking up so early. You only hoped that Vanya did as you needed her to once she woke up, because the success of your plan depended on her. 

When you got back to the Academy, you immediately sought out Allison. Your concern for her had been pushed to the back of your mind while you were at Leonard’s, but now with that piece of your plan finished, you knew you had time to finally let yourself worry. 

You were exhausted as you stumbled into the Academy. Holding on to so many minds at once had proved taxing for you. Your shoulder was still aching and your head still hurt, but you knew you didn’t have time to take care of yourself. There was so much that still needed to be done. 

You wanted to check in on the others before Vanya hopefully showed up at the Academy. You weren’t sure what happened once Luther and the rest got Allison back to the mansion, but you hoped you would find her alive and relatively well. 

When you finally tracked Allison down, it was to find her lying on her childhood bed, asleep. 

"It could have been a lot worse, you know," you heard Luther say from behind you. "If you weren't there, Vanya could have slit her throat." 

You turned to consider him. "But I _was_ there," you pointed out. 

"Vanya could have killed Allison. We’re lucky it was only a fraction of the damage Allison could have received. Grace said she was lucky she didn't lose the ability to speak. We're lucky she didn't bleed out. It was all luck. I can’t take the chance that something like this will happen again, because next time, we might not be so lucky." 

"Vanya didn't mean to do this, Luther. She just discovered she had a power and it was kept from her for most of her life. She doesn't have control. She wouldn't hurt Allison." 

Luther shook his head. "That doesn't matter, because she _did_ hurt her. Vanya's dangerous. I think she needs to be stopped." 

You scoffed and turned away from him, glancing back to Allison. From the way Luther said ‘stopped,’ you gathered it wasn’t anything that involved attempting to help Vanya. As usual, Luther wanted to approach the problem the only way he knew how. Through brute strength. 

"And I think you're an idiot if you really feel that way," you told him. 

Luther grumbled something you didn't quite catch before he brushed past you. You watched him move to sit down on the edge of Allison's bed as he brushed her hair out of her face. 

You knew Luther was in love with Allison. You knew he was distraught by what happened. You also knew that when Luther was upset about something, he usually came up with the absolute worst plans. 

You turned away from Allison's door, glad to know that she was alive. You hated seeing the bandage wrapped around her throat, but you took comfort in the fact that she would likely be able to recover. 

You left Allison’s room behind, knowing that you needed to find something you read about in your dad’s journal. It was critical to your plan and if for some reason you couldn’t track it down, then you would have to resort to a backup. 

You were grateful when you realized you wouldn’t need to alter your plan. 

After discovering Diego and Five in the living room bickering about something, you only took enough time to inform them Leonard was no longer a problem before you left them to the rest of their argument. You waved off their countless questions, claiming you would fill them in later, before you managed to get them to back off. 

You knew with Leonard dead, the Temps Commission would eventually come after you. You could just imagine the kind of havoc they were going to unleash on you for ruining their plans. You weren’t sure how much time you really had before everything came to a head, so you intended to keep your promise to Klaus. 

You felt exhausted as you shuffled in the direction of the hallway that housed most of the bedrooms. You wanted to take a shower or sleep for the rest of the day, but you knew you didn't have the time. You had to keep an eye on the minds in the Academy, because the second Vanya stepped foot into the mansion, you needed to know. 

You stopped just outside of Klaus' door. 

"I want to be numb again," you heard Klaus saying. "I've ended up losing two of the only people I've ever cared about. No one is taking me seriously. Why would I want to possibly feel through that?" 

You stayed just outside his door, listening to the low murmur of his voice. You had barely had time to think about your situation with Klaus, but you knew a few things. If Klaus wanted to get sober to see Dave again, then he must have meant a lot to Klaus. If Klaus fell in love with Dave, then it didn't have to mean he didn't love you anymore. Klaus was such a caring person and everyone was so quick to dismiss him, but you knew better. Klaus was always meant to love in his own way and he had more than enough heart in him to love you and Dave. Even though you weren't all that happy that Klaus had to seek out someone else in his time of need, you were grateful to Dave for pulling Klaus through what you imagined was a terrible ten months for him. 

It wasn't until you heard Klaus groan in protest and say something about Patrick Swayze that you finally took a deep breath and knocked on the door of his room. 

"Come in," he called. 

You cautiously opened his door and noticed his eyes go wide at the sight of you. 

"Hey," you whispered. 

"Hey," he croaked. He cleared his throat and shook his head. "Hey," he said again, his voice stronger. "Are you okay?" 

"I've been better," you admitted. "How are you?" 

"A lot of crazy shit has happened in the past day, but I think I managed to get sober," he said, a sad smile on his face. "I'm not sure if it was worth it, though." 

"Of course it is," you told him. “Klaus, that’s amazing. I’m proud of you.” 

Klaus hastily stood from where he had been kneeling on the floor. He took a hesitant step towards you. "I want to have that talk now. If we don't manage to stop the apocalypse, then there's every chance we won't get to live to see tomorrow. I can't do this without you," he admitted. “I don’t want to die knowing you’re pissed at me. I don’t want to die thinking you hate me.” 

You opened your mouth to reply, but it was then you sensed Vanya in the Academy. You turned your head towards the door before you picked up on Luther's mind as well. "Shit," you hissed. "I have to go." 

"What? No!" Klaus cried, moving until he was blocking your way to the door. 

"Klaus," you breathed, already looking for a way out. You had to find Vanya. You had to stall Luther. You had to try your best to avert the train wreck that was heading for all of you if something wasn't done about Vanya's growing powers. Most of all, you didn't want to have to think about your relationship with Klaus, even if you only managed to avoid it for a few more moments. If you let yourself fall into that well, then you weren't sure you would manage to crawl out in time. 

"No," he snapped. He took a step forward, ignoring the way you took one back in response. He kept moving forward until you were backed against the wall. He placed a hand on either side of your head, boxing you in. "No more avoiding, no more force fields, no _more_. I want to talk." 

"Well, I don't," you snapped, refusing to meet his gaze. "I have other shit going on. You know that. I told you to wait." You really didn't want to hurt Klaus, but now was not the time. You reasoned with yourself that if you managed to successfully avert the apocalypse, then you could take the time to tell Klaus you still loved him. Of course you still loved him. Klaus was always going to be the love of your life no matter how much he hurt you. But now wasn’t the time. 

Klaus sighed and reached out, tipping your chin up until you finally looked at him. "I'm sorry," he said, his tone sincere. "Please talk to me. I thought you were dead! When Diego called and we got to the cabin, you weren't moving. I was so scared to get close to you, because I thought you weren't breathing. I thought I had lost you too." 

“I’m still here, Klaus,” you reassured him. “I never wanted to scare you and I know we need to talk.” You shook your head. "I just need time, Klaus. This isn't the time." 

Klaus studied you for a few moments before he nodded his head. "Then I'll wait," he told you. "I waited for you for sixteen years. I guess I can wait a little longer." He scowled and growled something under his breath, glancing over his shoulder. "I'm aware," he snapped. He turned to look at you again and leaned forward, kissing you on the cheek. "Just promise me we'll talk before we all die in the apocalypse. I don't want the world to end if you're not by my side." 

You bit your lip before you nodded your head, feeling unsure as you watched him turn away from you. You sighed and pushed yourself away from the wall. "Klaus!" You called, rushing towards him. You saw him turn around to look at you, his eyes widening in surprise as you closed the distance between you. You pulled him into a kiss, surprised when he deepened it almost immediately. His hands came up to frame your face as he pressed closer to you. The kiss was rough and almost aggressive from the start, both of you pouring everything you hadn't yet been able to say into it. 

You put your hands on his chest and pushed away from him, absently licking your bottom lip. "We'll talk," you promised. "I just have to take care of something first. Something important." 

Klaus frowned and nodded his head, not saying anything as you turned and walked away from him. 

You hurried through the hallways of the Academy, hoping you got to the foyer in time. You could sense Luther's mind close enough to Vanya that you were worried you would be too late. Thankfully, as you ran into the foyer, you caught sight of Vanya staring up at Luther, tears streaming down her cheeks. 

"Y/N," Vanya breathed, her shoulders slumping in relief when she spotted you. "You're okay." 

"I'm okay," you confirmed for her. "So is Allison." 

Luther was still blocking most of your view of Vanya, but you saw her grateful expression. More tears welled in her eyes. "I didn't mean to," she started. "I never wanted to hurt either one of you. I feel awful. And Leonard was just using me. I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you before." 

"It's okay," you tried to sooth Vanya as you moved to stand next to Luther. "I know you didn't mean to cause either of us any harm." 

"I'm so scared," she confessed. "I don't know how to use this power. I don't want to hurt anyone else, but I can't control it." 

"It's going to be okay, Vanya," Luther finally said. He held his arms out, offering Vanya a hug. 

You watched her cautiously step into Luther's arms. You couldn’t help but hope for a moment that Luther had managed to realize that Vanya wasn't a threat unless he made her one. You really should have known better. 

You heard Vanya let out a pained gasp as Luther tightened his hold on her. You closed your eyes for a moment, wishing things were different. You knew what you had to do, though. 

"I'm so sorry," you whispered when you opened your eyes again to the sight of Luther trying to make Vanya pass out. 

Her wide eyes sought you out, an expression of betrayal flashing across her face, before you turned and put your hand on Luther's arm. You watched him sway before he let Vanya go and dropped to the floor. 

"Y/N," Vanya said, breathless and wide-eyed as she looked at where Luther was now lying unconscious on the floor of the foyer. "What are you doing?" 

You took a step towards Vanya, ignoring how she flinched away from you. You reached out and grabbed her hands, pulling on her until she finally looked at you. "Vanya, do you trust me?" 

She glanced from you to Luther asleep on the floor and then back to you again. Hesitantly, she nodded her head. 

"Do you know that I love you? I'd do anything to help you?" 

This time, she nodded her head right away. "I know," she whispered. 

"Then come with me," you said, turning away from her. You held out a hand, waiting for her to take it, before you led her to the elevator that would take you to the lower level of the mansion. 

Vanya's shoulders tensed the closer you got to your destination. "Where are we going?" She sounded scared and worried, her hand gripping yours tight. 

"You still trust me?" You couldn't help but ask, knowing that if you fucked up now, then it would be the end for all of you. 

Vanya swallowed and then nodded her head. "I trust you," she whispered, her hand shaking in yours. 

"Then know that what I'm about to do is for your own good." 

You led her to the concrete cell that Hargreeves had mentioned in his journal. You pulled the door of the cell open and nodded your head to the open space inside. "Get in," you demanded. 

"Y/N," Vanya said, shaking her head, trembling as she looked at you with hurt in her eyes. "No." 

"Do you trust me?" You repeated, knowing that you didn't have much time before someone discovered you. You assumed someone would hear the elevator and likely put two and two together. It didn’t matter, though. You were so close to getting what you wanted. 

Vanya took a deep, shaking breath, before she brushed past you to stand inside the cell. 

You stepped into the cell after her before turning towards the door. You were quick to pull the door closed behind you, trapping yourself and Vanya together inside the cell. You erected a force field to shield the door, ensuring no one would get close enough to interfere with your plan. 

"What are you doing?" Vanya appeared confused when you turned to look at her. She likely expected you to lock her up and leave her there by herself. 

You glanced over your shoulder through the small window on the door, seeing Luther, Diego, and Klaus rush into the room just outside the cell. Diego looked furious as he tried to get around the force field, but you knew he wouldn't get past it. You offered him a grin and waved, your amusement only growing when he started yelling at you. You couldn't hear him, though. 

Luther was considering you through the window, frowning, but Klaus had his arms wrapped around himself, staring around the room as if trying to figure out what he was supposed to do. You knew they wouldn't understand, since you had been formulating this plan since Allison had almost died and you confronted Leonard. You just needed Vanya to come to you to finally act on it. 

You turned back to Vanya, wanting to give her your full attention. 

"I know you don't understand why I'm doing this, but I think it will help you." 

Vanya shook her head. "I don't want to be here, Y/N. Please let me leave." 

"You'll get to leave soon enough," you promised, gesturing towards the floor. "Sit. Please," you added when Vanya hesitated. You waited until she sat down on the floor before you settled down in front of her. "Give me your hands," you said, holding yours out to her. She reached out, placing her hands in yours, and glanced up at you, waiting. 

"I read Dad's journal. I know what he did to you." 

Vanya's hands shook in yours, but you tightened your grip on them, trying to will her to focus on you. 

"Reginald Hargreeves was an impatient man. He didn't treat you right. Instead of taking the time to train you, to focus on you, he sought to suppress your ability when it surpassed what he thought it should be. He was afraid of your ability. He thought you were dangerous. He thought you were more likely to kill people than help or save them." 

Vanya drew in a shaky breath, tears beginning to gather in the corners of her eyes. 

"He was wrong," you told her, meeting her gaze and trying to show her that you were being sincere with your words. 

"He was?" She sounded so lost that you couldn't help but squeeze her hands, trying to briefly offer her comfort. 

"Yes," you answered. "You didn't grow up with his dubious training methods and you didn't have to suffer through years of using your powers for the Temps Commission, so it’s no wonder you don’t know how to use your power. But out of anyone in this family, I've learned how to grow and expand my power the most. I have the best control now," you told her. "So, I'm going to train you." 

"What? Why?" 

"Because you're not helpless, Vanya. You're not a lost cause like Dad would have tried to claim. You _are_ extraordinary and you deserve the benefit of the doubt." 

Vanya sniffled and turned her head away. "But I hurt Allison. I almost killed her. I hurt you too." 

"We've all done things we regret. And Allison loves you. She understands you didn't mean to. I know you would never willingly hurt us." 

Vanya's shoulders sagged at the words. "She doesn't hate me?" 

"No," you reassured her, offering her a small smile. "Not even Luther does. He's just a misguided idiot." 

Vanya let out a wet, choked laugh that sounded suspiciously close to a sob. "So, what are we doing in here?" 

"First lesson," you explained. "I want you to tell me about this room. What you remember. How it makes you feel. I need you to tap into a part of yourself that you haven't touched in a long time." 

Vanya shook her head, closing her eyes, as if trying to shut out the cell. You squeezed her hands again, trying to get her to remain present and in the moment. 

"Why?" 

"Because as long as this place exists, you're going to keep coming back to it. I'm going to help you move past it." You had had to face your inner demons before you were able to grow. Leonard had morphed Vanya into the worst version of herself and you wanted to help her fight her way back. It didn't matter to you that she was powerful and could destroy you with just a thought. Vanya was your sister and you loved her almost more than anyone else. You would stay with her in the cell until she was ready to move on. 

Vanya sighed before she nodded her head. "He used to lock me in here," she started, telling you about your dad and everything she remembered since her memories had started to resurface. You listened to her, hating the anguish and pain your father had put her through, but resolving to help her however you could. You were vaguely aware of the others messing with your force field, but you knew they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. You didn't want them coming anywhere near you or Vanya at the moment, so they wouldn't be able to. 

Vanya slumped down as she finished talking, her forehead almost resting against your joined hands. 

"You know why he always put you in here," you started, glancing around the cell. "It's soundproof. No outside noise. No way for you to harness your power." 

Vanya nodded her head, sitting up to consider the cell around her. 

"But you don't need that to use it, Vanya. You're stronger than that." 

"I am?" 

You nodded your head, moving to sit up and pulling her up with you. "I'll show you." You walked back over to the door, noticing that Allison had joined the others now. She gave you a confused look once she noticed you, her brow furrowing. Diego turned once he realized Allison was actually looking at something and he raised a fist to hit the force field, yelling something at you. You made a motion with your hand, urging them to stand back. Diego shook his head, refusing to budge, but you noticed Klaus automatically take a few steps back, putting his back to the opposite wall. You grinned at him, the first real smile you had for him in days, and turned to look at Vanya. 

"Are you ready?" 

"I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing," she admitted weakly, her hands in her pockets as she shifted on her feet nervously. 

"I'm getting there," you promised. You turned to look back out the window, rolling your eyes when you noticed only Klaus and Allison had actually bothered to listen to your unspoken request. Diego and Luther were still stubbornly waiting just on the other side of the force field. You sighed and pushed it back, forcing them to stumble away from it. Diego looked like he wanted to argue as he was herded towards the other side of the room by the field, but you didn't have time for that. You turned back to Vanya, taking her by the shoulders and positioning her until she was standing in front of the cell door, facing it. She moved to open the door, but you shook your head. "That's not what I want you to do," you told her. 

She made an irritated noise but nodded her head, trusting you. 

You squeezed her shoulders and took a step back, away from her. You moved to stand a couple of feet behind her. "I want you to close your eyes and visualize the cell door in your mind. I want you to focus on the feelings you associate with it and this room." 

You waited a few moments before Vanya nodded her head, obeying you. 

"Now listen," you told her. "Listen to my voice. Focus on the sound of it. But go deeper than that." You forced yourself to think of every horrible solo mission The Handler had sent you on. The terrible people and their horrifying minds that still plagued you. You thought of the fear and terror you experienced with each mission, afraid that you would never make it back to Five, because you were sure you would lose your mind first. You felt your heart pound in your chest at the thought, adrenaline and anxiety pouring through you. "Listen to my heart," you told her. "It's out of control. That's what they did to me. That's what they'll do to all of us if we don't stop them. Think of what Dad made you think about yourself. How he shunned you. How he turned you out of the family when you were the most powerful of us all. Think of how the others treated you. How we didn't understand you and didn't give you the time of day." You glanced down to see Vanya's fists clenched and shaking, waves of energy beginning to pour off of her. "Use my fear, Vanya. Use your anger. Focus on our heartbeats, how out of control they are, how _loud_." 

Vanya gasped and her head snapped back, sending out a pulse of energy that forced you to take a few steps away. You were tempted to protect yourself with another force field, but you didn't want Vanya to feel like she was alone in that moment. Besides, if your plan worked how you wanted it to, then you weren’t in any danger. 

"Direct that power you feel," you told her. "Knock down that door, Vanya. Use your power to break the cage our father built for you." 

Vanya was trembling, her breaths short and shaky. 

"Destroy it," you whispered. 

Vanya let out a scream, her hands whipping out and pushing. A blast of energy shot from her hands, slamming into the cell door. She managed to not only take down the door to the cell, but the wall it was attached to. You watched the door hit your force field before falling to the floor. 

You laughed in surprise, almost blown off your feet by the power radiating from Vanya in that moment. You took a few steps towards her, reaching out to hesitantly touch her shoulder. You pulled on her until she was facing you, her eyes white as her power continued to surge through her. "I'm so proud of you," you told her, and pulled her into a hug, not even caring if it was a horrible decision. 

"What the fuck, Y/N?" You heard Diego yell. “What the hell were you thinking?” 

You glanced over Vanya's shoulder to see Diego glaring at you. Most of the others had expressions ranging from shock to spooked, but they weren’t who you were worried about in that moment. You pulled away from Vanya and offered her a smile. "Are you okay?" 

Vanya blinked up at you a few times before her eyes morphed back to their usual color. She swayed slightly on her feet and you reached out to steady her. 

"Yeah," she breathed, a shaky smile on her face. "I think I'm okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many, many thanks to Joz for helping me figure some of this out and putting up with my ramble. You're the real hero. 💖
> 
> This is the chapter I'm most sensitive about and I had the worst anxiety every time I thought about posting it. The first scene I ever wrote for this fic was the ending to this chapter. From the point reader knocks out Luther to the very end, I've had this planned since February. It's what convinced me to write this sequel, so I'm a dumbass who wrote over 50k of fic to get to one scene. I'm so incredibly nervous about this and I hope it all pays off. I still have more surprises in store with the next chapter, but the end of this chapter is pretty much my baby. If you liked this, letting me know would make my day. 💖


	11. I Can Hear Your Heart Tickin' Like a Timebomb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny story. Once I posted the last chapter, my brain was convinced I was done.  
> Me: 'hey, so I should finish Timebomb."  
> My brain: 'uhhh, we posted the cell scene? isn't that what we've wanted this whole time?"  
> Me: 'there's still more to go! we're not done.'  
> My brain: 'hahaha what are words??? fuck off.'  
> It basically went like that for two weeks. If you follow me on Tumblr, you'll notice I picked up a new hobby. So sorry about that. Thanks for sticking with me. Here's the end of Tickin' Like a Timebomb. I hope you all enjoy. 💖

Once you were sure that Vanya was really okay, you turned to look at the others. 

"So, family meeting?" You helplessly asked, wincing at Diego's furious expression. 

"I'd say," he snapped, stepping aside when Luther started ushering Allison out of the room. 

You glanced to Vanya, seeing that she was glancing between you and Diego, an uncertain expression on her face. 

"Why don't you go on to the family room?" You suggested, shooting her a smile. "I need to talk to Diego for a moment." 

"Come on, Vanya," Klaus cut in. "Let's give them a moment," he offered, shooting you a brief glance. 

You watched Vanya follow after Klaus while Diego rounded on you. 

"What the hell were you thinking? That was dangerous, Y/N. She could have hurt you. You should have told us what you had planned and we could have all figured something out together." 

"Diego, have you ever been scared of your power? Have you ever felt like if you could, you would just carve it out of yourself? Like it's something that's going to take over one day and you’ll be helpless to stop it?" 

"What? No," he said. "Why would I?" 

"Because I have," you confessed. "I've hated my power and resented it. I had to do terrible, _horrible_ things with it. Ben went through something similar when we were younger. Klaus has suffered because of his as well. I didn't want Vanya to experience that too. Our powers can be so incredible, but they can also ruin us. I wanted Vanya to know that she doesn't have to let her power overwhelm her. She doesn't have to be defined by her past experience with it. She can control it. She's not what Dad thought of her." 

Diego watched you for a few moments before he sighed and moved forward to pull you into a hug. "You still should have told me. What would have happened if we hadn't found the two of you and she accidentally killed you?" 

"She wouldn't have," you immediately denied. "What happened with Allison was an accident. Vanya was hurt and lashed out, but she didn't mean to hurt Allison. Vanya wouldn't hurt us," you told him. 

"I know that," Diego said. "But she doesn't have control. She tore down a wall just now, Y/N. If she lost control, then she could seriously hurt people or kill them.” He took a deep breath as he pulled back to consider you. “I know you think you know what’s best, but you still should have trusted me." 

"I do trust you. But I couldn't have anyone interfering. Vanya needed to be shown that she's capable of using her power without being scared of it. I'm sorry," you told him. "I know I keep running off and doing my own thing and you only ask for me to include you. I just don't want any of you to get hurt." 

"We don't want _you_ to get hurt," Diego pointed out. "If you just included us, then we could have tried to figure this all out a lot sooner." 

You bit your lip before you nodded your head. "I'll explain everything I know right now. I promise." 

Diego sighed before he moved to sling an arm around your shoulders. "Then let's go join the others, because I'm curious to know what you have to say." 

When you got to the living room, it was to find the others sitting around in awkward silence. Allison was sitting in one of the chairs by the fireplace with Luther hovering just behind her shoulder. Vanya was sitting on one of the couches while Klaus sat on the opposite one, nervously chewing on his nails. 

He sighed in relief when he saw you and Diego walk into the room. "About time you two," he said. "I'm pretty sure the silence was about to kill one of us." 

Diego moved to sit down on the other chair placed in front of the fireplace while you moved to lean against one of the pillars lining the room. 

"So? Get on with it," Diego said when he glanced at you. 

"Where's Five?" You asked, finally noticing that he was missing from the group. 

"He said he had something he had to do," Klaus offered. “Who even knows when he’ll grace us with his presence again?” 

"We don't have time to wait for him," Luther cut in. "We deserve to know what's been going on, Y/N." 

"Alright," you conceded. "I think I'm not the only one holding onto a piece of the puzzle, though. I'm going to explain everything, but we all need to contribute what we know. The apocalypse could still happen for all I know, so we need to make sure we're going to really avert it this time." 

"Oh!" Klaus exclaimed, raising his hand in the air. "I've got something." 

"This isn't a classroom," Diego groaned, rolling his eyes. "Just speak, Klaus." 

Klaus sat forward in his seat, glancing up at you. "I managed to talk to Dad." 

You quirked an eyebrow at him. "What? What did he have to say?" 

"So, it turns out his death wasn't an accident. He meant to die. He spouted some bullshit about us solving his murder and bringing the team back together in time to save the world. You know the man," Klaus dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Cryptic and not helpful at all while managing to put me down for the thousandth time. Nothing spectacularly surprising." 

You took a moment to consider Klaus' words. "Huh," you breathed. "I guess I'm really not surprised," you agreed. You remembered thinking that if Grace had failed to help Reginald, then it was for a reason. It turned out it really was all a part of his convoluted plan to get the band back together again. 

"Dad sent me to the Moon for no reason," Luther confirmed. He cleared his throat, his gaze resolutely fixed on his hands where they were clutching the back of Allison's chair. "It turns out you were right, Y/N. There was nothing special about it at all." 

You could hear what Luther wasn't saying. He didn't think there was anything special about him. You knew that what your father did to Luther must have been a huge blow to his confidence. You knew that Luther had suffered as much as the rest of you. He had always had an incredible pressure resting on his shoulders to be the perfect leader to the group of misfits that made up the Umbrella Academy. Sure, you found yourself frustrated with him more often than not, but you still loved him. You didn't want him to suffer through his pain alone. 

"Dad fucked us all over, Luther. I'm sorry he put you through that. You didn't deserve it," you told him, meeting his eyes and trying to convey that you were being sincere. "It wasn't fair." 

Luther didn't respond, but he slowly dipped his head in a nod. 

"What's going on here?" You heard from behind you. You glanced back to see Five standing just behind you in the entryway, his hands on his hips as he surveyed the room. "Family meeting?" He surmised, an amused smirk on his face. 

"You're only a little late," you told him. "I was just about to fill everyone in." 

"This ought to be good," Five muttered before he moved to sit beside Vanya on the couch. 

You took a deep breath before you started. You tried to cover everything you had managed to discover over the past few days. You told them what you learned from the few glimpses of Leonard's mind you had been afforded. You explained his reasons for hating the members of the Umbrella Academy and his desire for revenge. You glossed over how he used Vanya, because he wanted her to turn on all of you and destroy you. You admitted that Leonard was most likely the catalyst for the apocalypse. You carefully left out the part about killing Leonard, but you mentioned reading the journal and your realization that your father had purposefully shunned Vanya so that she wouldn't discover her power. 

"He was scared of Vanya," you mentioned, shooting her a glance. You saw her worried expression and moved forward to crouch down in front of her. You reached out to grab her hands, hoping to lend her some form of comfort. "He was wrong. I told you that. You _can_ control your power, Vanya. He never should have done that to you." 

"We shouldn't have let him," you heard Diego speak up. You glanced over your shoulder to see that he was carefully watching Vanya. "I'm sorry if I've made you feel like you weren't one of us," he added. "You're family. You always have been." 

A brief smile flitted across Vanya's face before she nodded her head. "Thanks, Diego." 

Allison grabbed the pad of paper she had on her lap and scribbled something down on the front page. She held the pad up so everyone could read the words she had written. 

' _What happens now?_ ' 

You shrugged your shoulders. "I don't know," you answered honestly. "The Temps Commission will likely be after me. I've had a kill order on my head this whole time, but they're not going to like that I've been actively trying to go against their plans. They might send more than Hazel and Cha-Cha next time." 

“If Harold Jenkins is no longer a problem, then there is no apocalypse,” Five chimed in. “They’re going to be pissed and out for blood. Worse yet, they’re not going to give up. If they want an apocalypse, they’re going to do whatever they have to in order to get it.” 

You glanced up at Vanya, catching her fearful expression. You knew that Vanya’s power must have been what detonated the world in the first place, but with Harold dead, you hoped it wouldn’t happen this time. Was there still a way the Temps Commission could force an apocalypse? 

"We've got your back, Y/N," Luther said, tearing you out of your thoughts. "If they want you or Five, then they're going to have to go through us." 

"That's what I'm worried about. I don't want any of you getting hurt," you muttered, shaking your head. 

"We won't," Klaus promised. "No one is getting hurt. Not if we’re all together next time they attack," he said. 

You smiled at him, wanting nothing more than to go over to him and wrap your arms around him. You settled for standing up and moving back to where you were originally standing. 

"I know it's probably not important in light of the apocalypse, but I have a show tonight. First chair," Vanya offered. 

"First chair? Really?" You asked, a grin overtaking your face. 

Vanya smiled sheepishly and nodded her head. 

"I'm so proud of you," you told her. You knew that she had felt like she would always be inferior to Helen. For Vanya to finally win her shot at first chair was huge. "And we're going to that concert." 

"Uh, Y/N," Diego interrupted. "End of the world ringing any bells? Are you sure that's a good idea? " 

"No," you answered honestly. "But I'll be there to help her keep control. It's going to be fine. Besides," you continued as you glanced back to Vanya. "You deserve to have your moment. I’d do anything to make that happen." 

Vanya smiled at you before she glanced uncertainly to the others. "You're all invited, if you want," she offered. "It's at the Icarus." 

Allison grabbed her pad of paper and wrote down another message before she showed it to Vanya. 

' _We'll be there._ ' 

You saw Vanya's shoulders drop as they lost some of the tension keeping them stiff. She glanced up to you, a hopeful look on her face. "If I’m going, then I need to go by my apartment and get ready." 

"I'll go with you," you offered. You glanced over to see Klaus already watching you. "Will you go with us?" 

You saw Klaus' eyes go wide in disbelief before he moved to hastily stand up. "Yeah," he said, a look of cautious hope falling over his face. "Yeah," he repeated with a grin. 

You reached a hand out to him, noticing the look of almost delight take over his expression as he reached out to lace his fingers with yours. 

Diego allowed you to take his car as long as you promised not to let it get destroyed. You rolled your eyes at his words, but noticed he had a smirk on his face when he waved you off at the door. 

You took Vanya to her apartment building so she could get ready for her concert. You and Klaus followed her up the stairs to her apartment, listening to her softly explain the pieces that were meant to be played that night. You shared a fond look with Klaus as Vanya unlocked the door to her apartment, feeling so delighted for Vanya in that moment as she spoke about her music. 

While Vanya went to her room to get dressed, you pulled Klaus over to the couch and sat down beside him. 

Klaus seemed nervous, his fingers wrapped tight around yours, as he waited for you to speak. 

"I wanted to apologize," you started, offering him a sheepish smile. "I know I've been pushing you away and it wasn't fair of me." 

"Hey, no,” he refuted. “It's my fault and you had every right. I never wanted to hurt you." 

"I know. But I _was_ hurt. But I realized you were right earlier. The apocalypse might still happen and there's every chance we'll die tonight or tomorrow." You couldn't help but shake your head, a rueful grin on your face. "Knowing us, we're likely to always have some kind of threat looming over us." 

"What are you saying?" Klaus asked with a guardedly hopeful expression on his face. 

"I'm saying that we have so much to work through and I'm not really ready to do that, but I want to," you told him. "I love you, Klaus. I don't think I'll ever stop," you let out on a helpless laugh. "I want to move forward. With you," you added after a moment. 

"Really?" He asked, his voice nearly breathless, as if he didn't quite believe you. 

"Once we stop the apocalypse, then we're going to get everything out there, okay? We have a lot to talk about." 

"Okay," Klaus agreed readily. 

"But that doesn't mean we can't kiss right now," you offered. 

Klaus froze for a moment before he was suddenly in your space. He moved to settle over your lap, his arms coming up to rest on either side of your head. 

"You sure this is what you want?" 

You nodded up at him, a smile beginning to tug at the corners of your lips. "I've missed you," you whispered. 

"God, I've missed you too," he sighed before he pressed his lips to yours. You tipped your head back, allowing Klaus to deepen the kiss. His hands came up to frame your face, as if he wanted to make sure you stayed in place. It started out almost desperate, both of you eager to touch again, but as you both seem to realize there was nothing to separate you this time, the kiss turned languid and slow. 

"Oh," you heard Vanya gasp. 

Klaus didn't seem to have any intention of stopping, so you had to put your hands on his chest and push him away. You managed to turn your head to see Vanya standing in her kitchen, a blush on her cheeks as she pointedly looked anywhere but at you and Klaus. 

"Damn it, Vanya," Klaus groaned, his face resting in the crook of your neck. "You couldn't have waited five more minutes?" 

You shook your head and pushed at Klaus until he got the hint and climbed off of your lap. 

"You look great, Vanya," you told her when you noticed the suit she was wearing. "Are you ready to go?" 

Vanya hastily nodded her head. "I'm worried, though." 

"I've heard you play. You're going to be great," you assured her. 

"I'm more worried about my power," she clarified. "What if I get overwhelmed while I'm onstage?" 

"I'll be there to help," you told her. "You've worked so hard for this, Vanya. If I see you starting to lose control, then I'll find a way to stop you." 

Vanya watched you for a few moments, considering you. Finally, she nodded her head. "Then I'm ready to go." 

"Great," Klaus said, clapping his hands. "Let's go hear you make some music." 

When you got to the Icarus, Vanya left you and Klaus to go backstage. You tugged Klaus down to the front row of the auditorium, wanting a good view of Vanya in case anything went wrong. Klaus sat down in the aisle seat before gesturing for you to take the one beside him. 

Once you were seated, he reached out to take hold of your hand. Klaus leaned over until his lips were brushing against the shell of your ear. "Are you sure you want to sit up here?" He murmured, keeping his voice low. 

"I need a clear view of Vanya," you explained. "Why?" 

"I was just thinking," he hummed, his fingers disentangling from yours. 

"That's never a good sign," you joked, wondering where he was taking the conversation. 

"It's a shame we're not in the back row," he continued, his fingers dragging up your thigh. 

You quirked an eyebrow at him, trying to fight the amused grin off your face. "You're shameless." 

"We've already established that," he told you with a satisfied smirk. 

You considered Klaus for a moment before you nodded your head. "Front row appropriate," you warned as you reached out to tangle your fingers in his hair, bringing his mouth to yours. 

By the time the house lights dimmed, you were sure your actions with Klaus were bordering on scandalous. You managed to pull yourself away from him, righting your shirt where it got rucked up by his wandering hands. You caught the pleased grin on Klaus' face as he settled back in his seat, his fingers seeking yours out to resume his hold on your hand. 

You directed your focus up to the stage as you watched the members of the orchestra prepare to play. You felt incredibly proud of Vanya as you watched her take the spot she had coveted for years. 

As the first song swelled, you noticed someone sit down beside you. 

"Hey," you heard them whisper before they reached out to carefully nudge your arm. 

You glanced over to see Diego sitting there. A gash was sluggishly bleeding on his forehead and his eye looked bruised. When you glanced past him, you noticed Luther and Allison in similar states of disarray sitting beside Diego. 

"What the hell happened to you?" You hissed at him, making sure to keep your voice low in the hopes you wouldn't disturb anyone. 

"Your old company came calling. They hurt Mom," he told you. He sighed before he shot a glance up at the stage. "They killed Pogo." 

"Fuck." You felt an immediate sense of guilt at the thought of Pogo dying because of you. You didn’t really have time to reconnect with him since getting back, but you couldn’t help but think of him as family. You weren’t really sure to think as you sank back into your seat. “And Mom’s okay?” You couldn’t help but make sure. 

“She’ll be fine,” Diego confirmed with a nod. 

You glanced at the others before looking back to Diego. "Where's Five?" 

"He left before they even got there. Said he had someone to talk to. We came here because we think they're looking for you and Vanya. We wanted to be here if they attacked again." 

"No," you tried to argue. "You need to get far away from here. They're going to track me down no matter what. I don't want the rest of you caught in their crosshairs." 

"We just talked about this earlier today," Diego pointed out. "We're not going anywhere. We're in this together." 

You felt Klaus' fingers tighten around yours. "Uh, Y/N? I think you're needed." 

You glanced back up to the stage to see waves of energy beginning to pour from Vanya. You could see her eyes shining white as she played on, seemingly oblivious to what was happening. 

"Shit," you hissed, moving to stand from your seat. You took a few steps towards the stage, but it was then that the first gunshot rang out. You instinctively ducked, turning to see members of the Temps Commission beginning to flood into the theater. 

"Y/N, get down!" Klaus called. He moved forward to pull you down to the floor, both of you taking refuge behind the first row of seats. 

You glanced back up to the stage to see the other members of the orchestra fleeing as Vanya continued to play. 

"We have to stop them!" Diego yelled over the music. 

"Yeah, no shit," you heard Klaus grumble. 

"I can handle them," you offered. "You guys can get away." 

"Don't be ridiculous," Diego scoffed. 

"Look, I love you guys, but I can take them out. But I need you guys to go before I do or you'll be in the way and you'll get hurt." 

Klaus crouched down in front of you, taking your face in his hands, and forcing you to meet his eyes. "We're not leaving you," he insisted. 

You watched him for a few moments before you sighed. "Then we need to come up with a plan. They're just going to keep trying to kill all of us." 

You could hear people screaming and noticed them fleeing for the exits as Temps Commission agents swarmed the aisles in search of you and the others. 

"That sounds great," Diego said. "Any plans on how to do that?" 

"We fight," you replied helplessly, glancing at each of them in turn to make sure you were all on the same page. 

It was then you noticed a burst of blue light fly from the stage and push back a line of Temps Commission foot soldiers. You felt your eyes go wide before you glanced up at the stage. Vanya sent you a smirk over her violin as she continued to play. 

You felt such a rush of relief in that moment. You didn't want to fight Temps Commission soldiers while also worrying that you would have to find a way to contain Vanya. If she was going to try to actively use her power to help you and the others, then you would gladly welcome it. You just hoped she didn't let her power get the best of her. 

You noticed a few Temps Commissions agents aim their guns at you. You were quick to throw up a force field, stopping any bullets that might have reached you. 

It seemed as if complete chaos managed to descend upon the theater within just a few moments. Diego threw his knives at agents while Luther tackled any soldiers he could reach without risking getting shot. You threw up force fields when needed and sent agents to sleep when you got the chance. Allison had pulled a gun from her purse and was carefully aiming at the agents while Klaus crouched on the floor of the theater, staring down at his clenched fists in concentration. 

You noticed Vanya sending out slashes of energy from her bow every so often, being careful to aim at agents farther back in the auditorium so as not to accidentally hurt you or the others. 

For a moment, you really thought you had the battle won. You thought the tide was turning in your favor. 

It wasn't until you felt pain rip through your injured shoulder and Klaus scream your name that you noticed Cha-Cha behind you. There was a snarl on her face as she kept her gun leveled on you. 

"Are you fucking kidding me? The same shoulder?" You brought a hand up to gently touch your shoulder, noticing the fresh blood coating your fingers. You threw up a force field when it looked like she was thinking about shooting you again. "Where's your partner?" 

"He ran off with his girlfriend," Cha-Cha spat. "He left me to clean up the mess." 

You saw a knife embed itself in Cha-Cha's shoulder and she stumbled back. She grimaced as she reached up to tear the knife out of her shoulder. She sent a glare at Diego and you sent up another force field between them when she turned in his direction. 

You heard the music swell and glanced up at the stage to see Vanya seemingly lost in her music. There were still gunshots sounding and Temps Commission soldiers filling the theater, but all you could focus on was the serene expression on her face as she let her music carry her away. A wave of panic overtook you at the sight of her. You knew that she was starting to lose her control. 

You moved to get back to the stage, but a barrage of bullets cut you off. You realized that the agents were probably trying to get Vanya to lose control. If she lost control, then there was every likelihood that the apocalypse still happened. 

You used a force field to push back a line of Temps Commission agents while you worked to send a few more to sleep. You noticed Diego pursue Cha-Cha backstage and Five blip into the aisle just as Vanya's music picked up. 

"What are you all standing around for?" He yelled before he threw himself on the back of one of the soldiers, forcing them to redirect their aim. 

You had to dive behind a row of seats when a Temps Commission agent almost got a lucky shot at you. You landed near Allison and you could tell from the worried expression on her face that she thought you were all fighting a losing battle. 

"There's too many of them," you told her. "You all need to get the hell out of here." 

Allison frowned and shook her head. You saw her eyes widen and it was then you noticed a blue glow emanating from somewhere behind you. 

When you turned, it was to see Klaus' hands glowing as he slowly stood up. A haze of blue manifested in front of him before it sharpened to show you Ben standing there, an astonished look on his face. 

Klaus let out a pleased laugh as Ben pulled back the sides of his jacket, allowing the ghostly monsters still trapped beneath his skin to break free. You watched in awe as Ben violently disposed of the rest of the attackers, an almost relieved expression on his face as he managed to save his family. 

When the rest of the agents were gone, Ben pulled his power back into him. He turned to share a look with Klaus before he blinked out of view. 

Klaus shot you a triumphant grin before he bounded over to you. "Did you see him? You saw Ben?" 

"I did," you told him, still trying to get over the shock that Klaus' powers had obviously grown recently. "It was amazing, Klaus." 

He looked momentarily pleased with himself before a wave of energy managed to make him stumble. You shot a hand out, keeping yourself steady with your grip on the armrest beside you. 

You turned your attention back to the stage, noticing Vanya's eyes were closed as she seemed to pour all of her concentration and focus into playing. Waves of energy were steadily flowing from her, causing the building around you to shake ominously. 

"Vanya, no!" You screamed helplessly. You had worked so hard to get her to control her power, but she wasn't ready. She could be the strongest one on the team, but that wasn't to your advantage now that her power was gradually building with no end in sight. If you didn't find a way to stop her, then she was going to do a lot of damage. 

You saw the moment it started to truly overwhelm her. You knew there wasn't much time before you had to act, so you turned to look at Klaus. He was watching Vanya, his eyes wide in fear and concern. You gripped his arm, bringing his focus back to you. 

"I love you," you whispered before you pulled him into a kiss. 

He relaxed into you almost immediately, as if both of you hadn't just been fighting for your lives. He pulled away to cup your face in his hands, a smile on his face. "I love you too," he told you. "Always," he added before he kissed you again. 

"Don't let them stop me," you told him when you ended the kiss. "Please, Klaus. I have to do this." 

He watched you for a few seconds, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Do what?" 

"Just trust me," you pleaded. You pulled him into one more kiss, hoping it wasn't your last. You had so much to work out, but this sweet moment between the two of you was definitely a start. You weren't ready to let go of Klaus. 

He nodded his head, pressing his forehead against yours. "I trust you." 

"Thank you," you said before you pushed yourself away from him. If you didn't do this now, then you never would. 

You ran up onto the stage, noticing that Vanya's power was starting to pulse from her in bursts that were strong enough to almost knock you off your feet. It wasn't going to be long before she wouldn't be able to hold onto it any longer. Would it destroy the building or the world? You weren't sure, but you were certain that Vanya was supposed to cause the apocalypse and you only had the next few moments to stop it. 

You were terrified as you moved to stand as close as you could to her on the stage. The fate of the world and all of your loved ones depended on this one moment with Vanya. You took one more glance at Klaus, noticing him arguing with Diego, before you turned your attention back to Vanya. 

What were all those months of training for if not for this moment? 

You took a deep breath and focused all of your power and energy on Vanya. You formed a force field around her. You poured every ounce of yourself into the force field. You could feel her power battering against the sides of the field surrounding her and you had to grit your teeth against the feeling. It was like a symphony blaring in your head, the sound resonating so deep in your core it felt for a moment as if you were the music. 

Everything seemed to fade away as you slowly pressed the field in on her until she was completely surrounded. Your hands were clenched in fists and your nails were digging so deeply into your palms you could feel blood begin to pour from the cuts. 

Your heart was beating so fast you felt like you were going to pass out. It felt like you were completely helpless to the pull of Vanya's power as you tried to contain it. Once you were sure your force field was as strong as you could make it, you reached out tentatively with your power and put Vanya to sleep. 

You had only a moment to watch Vanya's head jerk back and her power seemingly explode from her before everything went dark. 

You weren't really aware of what happened next. There were snatches of sounds and bursts of bright lights. You could hear the low murmur of voices and feel someone holding your hand in a grip so tight it almost hurt. 

It seemed like no matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t force your eyes to open. You drifted in and out of your little pockets of awareness with no idea of what was really going on. 

When you finally managed to make yourself wake, you realized you were in a hospital room. You noticed Diego in the chair next to your bed, just starting to drift off with his chin almost tipped down against his chest. 

"Hey," you managed to choke out. You started coughing then and struggled to stop. With each cough that racked your body, there was an accompanying stab of pain to your head. You winced and brought your hands up to press against your temples. 

"Fuck," Diego blurted, startling in his chair. He rushed to get the cup of water waiting for you on your bedside tray. He held it out to you, watching as you weakly grabbed it from him. "Are you okay?" 

You managed a few sips of water before you were able to nod your head. "What happened? Where is everyone?" 

"They’re back at the Academy. Well, Klaus is in the bathroom. He hasn't left since you ended up in here." 

Diego was silent for a moment and you quirked an eyebrow at him. "What? You don’t have a speech this time? You're not going to tell me it was stupid and reckless?" 

"It _was_ stupid and reckless," Diego agreed. "But I'm pretty sure you saved us all from that apocalypse you and Five were chasing." Diego cleared his throat before he sat forward in his seat. "And between you and me, you should be gentle with Klaus once he gets back out here. He really lost it when you collapsed." 

"Shit," you groaned. You could imagine it was hard for Klaus to lose Dave and then likely think he lost you too. "Was it bad?" 

"Oh yeah," Diego said. 

You heard the door to the bathroom open before footsteps approached the bed. 

"Y/N," Klaus breathed in awe. "You're awake." 

"And that's my cue to leave," Diego said as he pushed himself to stand. "I'm glad you're awake, Y/N," he told you. He leaned forward to plant a kiss on your forehead before he moved to leave the room. 

Klaus moved to sit down in Diego's vacated chair. "Hey," he called softly as he reached out to grab your hand. "How are you feeling?" 

"Like someone took a sledgehammer to my skull," you confessed with a grimace. "What happened?" 

"We all saw you using your power to keep Vanya contained. When she collapsed, it looked like a bomb went off. There was this blinding flash of light, I heard you scream, and when I could see again, both you and Vanya were knocked out. You were bleeding from your ears and I couldn't get you to wake up." You saw tears begin to well in his eyes as he squeezed your hand. "I thought you were dead," he confessed, his voice hoarse. 

“I’m right here,” you reassured him. You tugged on his hand, willing him to move closer. He sighed before he let you pull him onto the bed. He gingerly moved about until he was tucked up against your side, careful not to brush against your injured shoulder when he wrapped his arms around you. 

You noticed your injured shoulder was freshly bandaged and wondered what happened to Cha-Cha. You remembered Diego going after her, but you didn't know if he killed her or she managed to escape. 

Klaus pressed a kiss to your cheek before he rested his head on your uninjured shoulder. "You really scared me," he admitted, his voice soft and low. "I didn't want to be all alone." 

"I wouldn't leave you," you promised. "I'd never go anywhere if it meant I couldn't manage to find my way back to you." 

He looked up at you, exhaustion and worry clear on his face. "Next time just take me with you." 

You smiled at him before you started tugging him up towards you. "Promise," you mumbled against his lips before you kissed him. 

Klaus pressed closer against you, careful to not put any weight on your injured shoulder. 

You weren't sure how long you spent losing yourself to Klaus. You were just so relieved to be alive and free of the impending apocalypse that you felt breathless with want for him. Now that most of your troubles had been taken care of, you wanted to spend as long as you had with Klaus. 

It was when Klaus pulled away to start nibbling his way down your jaw to your neck that you remembered you still had one more thing to worry about. 

"Klaus," you called, shivering when he began to suck a kiss into the skin of your throat. 

"Mmm, yeah?" He mumbled, not bothering to pull away from you. 

"Wait, hold on," you groaned, knowing that if you let Klaus continue, then there was every chance you wouldn't have the willpower to get him to stop. 

"What is it?" He asked, pulling away to look down at you. "Did I do something wrong? Did I hurt you?" 

"No, that's not it," you rushed to reassure him. "I just couldn't help but wonder what happened to Vanya." 

"Oh," Klaus breathed, a sullen expression falling over his face. "She's in a coma." 

"What?" You never imagined that would be Vanya’s fate after everything. When Diego said everyone was back at the Academy, you had foolishly hoped that meant Vanya as well. You should have known better. It was never that easy. 

"Yeah, they can't get her to wake up. They're not sure if she _will_ wake up." He sighed before he moved to sit up. "They said she seems fine, so they can't figure out what's actually wrong with her."

You considered him for a moment before you reached a hand out for him to grab. "Take me to her," you told him. 

Klaus narrowed his eyes before he shook his head. "There's no way in hell I can convince you to stay in bed, is there?" 

"Not with Vanya in trouble," you confirmed for him. 

Klaus took a deep breath before he started helping you off the bed. "Then let's go see her," he said as he pulled you up to stand beside him. 

"Thank you," you sighed before you pulled him in for a quick kiss. 

Klaus offered you a small smile as he began to lead you out of your hospital room and down the hallway. You felt him squeeze your hand, as if in reassurance. 

When you got to Vanya's room, you noticed Diego leaning against the wall just outside her door. 

He frowned at you when he saw you. "What the hell are you two doing here? She should be in bed," Diego said as he turned a glare on Klaus. 

"I asked him to take me to Vanya," you told Diego. "I want to see her." 

Diego rolled his eyes before he moved to push open the door to Vanya's room. "I guess it's useless trying to argue with you. You'll just sneak down here in the middle of the night or something." 

"At least you're starting to learn," you joked with a smirk as you moved to brush past him. 

Klaus and Diego stayed in the doorway as you took a few steps inside Vanya's hospital room. You took solace in the steady beeping of her heart monitor and the way her chest slowly rose and fell with each breath. You shuffled closer to her bed, hating how still and pale she looked. You were worried you wouldn’t be able to help her, but you knew you had to try. 

You glanced back at Klaus and saw him give you an encouraging nod. You sighed before you moved to stand at Vanya’s bedside. 

You considered her for a moment before you gently reached out to cup her face in your hands. You closed your eyes and pulled on Vanya's subconscious mind with your power, willing her to the surface. You leaned over and pressed your lips against her forehead, feeling yourself smile when you felt her begin to stir beneath your hands. You stood, keeping your hands on her face, as you whispered your next words to her. 

"It's time to wake up, Vanya."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title 'Tickin' Like a Timebomb' was always meant to refer to not only the reader's relationship with Klaus, but Vanya and her impending doom as well. 
> 
> Many, many thanks to Joz for listening to me ramble (especially about the sequel to this) because it made me excited to write again. I wouldn't have managed to get this written without you. 💖
> 
> So...see y'all for the third one? 😉 It's going to be called 'These Hands Stained Red,' and won't follow season two canon (that I know of).


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